Chelsea remain laughably unprepared for the expedited transfer window
By Travis Tyler
The World Cup and a change in FA policy has pushed the transfer window up. Chelsea are still completely unprepared for a vital summer.
It is no secret that Chelsea are about to enter a crucial period in the club’s history. For the second time in three seasons, the Blues may not be in the Champions League. Europa League is a consolation prize that offers a building block but it is not where anyone wants to be given the choice.
Chelsea must excel this summer if the club is going to bounce back and thrive in the coming years. And as things stand, Chelsea are laughably unprepared.
The transfer window opens in just under a month. Yes, that is correct. The World Cup and a change with the FA has pushed the window up. It now starts before the FA Cup final even kicks off. It will end before the next season starts and the World Cup will be sandwiched in between.
The change in window dates would be enough of a cause for concern. But activity during the World Cup practically stops. Players in the tournament either want their business done before or after but rarely during. This effectively crams all the business for big clubs into two brief windows.
At this point, the good sources are usually pushing rumors out. Except in regards to Chelsea, there is practically nothing. This could mean one of two things. The first is that Chelsea have learned to keep a tight lid on their targets to make their acquisition easier. The second, and unfortunately the most likely, is that Chelsea have no idea who they want.
Why would a big club entering a crucial period in their history have no idea who their targets are a month out? The two main reasons are managerial uncertainty and the vacant technical director spot.
It is obviously difficult to pursue targets if no one has any idea who will be managing the club next season. Some players will refuse moves until it is clear. Is that man Antonio Conte? Or is Conte on the way out for someone new? Regardless, Chelsea will have next to no way of easing players fears about that when the window opens. At best, the future of the role will not be revealed until June or even July. That will put Chelsea far behind in their pursuit of targets.
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But the vacant technical director spot is the biggest fault with Chelsea’s summer plans right now. A technical director can wear many types of hats but primarily they create the plan that builds the roster. Michael Emenalo has been gone since November. At the absolute latest, a new technical director should have been appointed at the start of February. April is now half over, the window less than a month away, and Chelsea shamefully have no one even rumored to the position anymore.
Is it a case of no one wanting it? No one being available? Regardless, the board and anyone involved in the search and hiring of a new technical director has failed. Without a technical director, the Blues have no footballing plan for the summer. Targets will only be sought because A: the manager asks for them (which again, no one knows who that will be yet) or B: it makes business sense. The latter is how Chelsea ended up with second and third choice players in both windows this season.
Chelsea must succeed this summer. It is the only way they can crack into top four again. But all signs point to the club failing. And failure will result in the club getting stuck in the same “outside looking in” trap as Arsenal this year or Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur previously.
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As things stand, Chelsea are set for several lean years because everyone appears to be sitting on their laurels in one of the club’s most vital periods.