It’s been a disappointing season for Chelsea despite the Blues finishing in the top four. At the start of the campaign, that was never the goal for the UEFA Champions League winners. Many had advised Chelsea to be up there with Manchester City, but that certainly wasn’t the case.
A lot has gone wrong for Thomas Tuchel’s men this season, like injuries to key players, COVID cases, big non-performing signings and the club sanctioned midway through the campaign. Apologies aside, Chelsea are much better than this and should be higher up the table.
Next season would also be the start of a new era under new owner Todd Boehly, who saw the Blues disappoint again in midweek, drawing 1-1 with Leicester City at Stamford Bridge.
There’s no denying that it’s not even a question of whether Tuchel is the right person for the job, it’s now about giving the German the right tools to conquer England and Europe once again. Romelu Lukaku arrived as a big money signing for the Blues and was expected to elevate them as title challengers but it didn’t work out as expected.
A mini rebuild is needed at Chelsea and there have already been some signs of change, especially in defence, where Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen will leave. Malang Sarr and Trevor Chalobah have proven to be good enough for Chelsea, but it just takes a bit more quality to take Tuchel’s side to the next level and compete again.
Sevilla defender Jules Kounde has been linked with a move to the club in recent windows and would add that much-needed experience to the Blues’ back line, while also giving Chelsea a longer project to build around the defensive end being given that the French international is only 23 years old.
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Ronald Araujo is another name linked with Chelsea. The Barcelona defender offers as much if not more than Koundé and is also only 23 years old. His profile would fit perfectly into Tuchel’s system and would be the ideal replacement for Christensen or Rudiger.
Ben Chilwell has returned to first-team training and will therefore take his preferred left-back spot ahead of Marcos Alonso who is also set to leave the club.
Up front, Lukaku, as deadly as he could be in his day, has simply been no match for Chelsea and needs to be replaced if Tuchel’s men are to fight at the top. The Blues have been the most successful when they showed their cruel side to the game, so second chances should now be a thing of the past.
Lautaro Martinez would be the perfect fit for Chelsea, and with Lukaku already hinting in the past at his admiration for his former club Inter Milan, perhaps a swap can be made that benefits both parties.
Martinez scored 25 goals in 48 appearances in all competitions and would come through in the German’s tactics, leading the attack, while diving deep to create an overload in midfield.
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