Time for Thomas Tuchel’s Empire at Chelsea, Part 1: Transfer market
Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea reached the pinnacle of club football as they beat Manchester City emphatically to lift the Champions League. The German transformed a struggling Chelsea into a tactical machine within four months. Winning a title at Chelsea is a joyous moment, but the real challenge begins afterwards. Next season, Tuchel enters the most dangerous waters for any Chelsea manager. We have been at this crossroads before, on many occasions. More often than not, things have gone south quickly, and the manager has been sacked.
With Tuchel, Chelsea has a chance to set the record straight and build an empire. The Stamford Bridge faithful have longed for continuity and a proper project to challenge trophies on multiple fronts and the league.
Let’s take a look at what Tuchel and the board need to do as far as the transfer market, loan army, and academy are concerned.
Tuchel and the Blues go into the summer window with a couple of targets in mind. A striker seems to be the priority as the forwards struggled to finish chances in the last season. Tammy Abraham’s time at the club is over, and Olivier Giroud seems to be on his way as well. It is sad to see two capable strikers leaving, but it is what it is, and those ships sailed three months ago.
Erling Haaland and Romelu Lukaku are reportedly Chelsea’s targets this summer. However, what is interesting is that most of the news coming out is that the club remains focused on signing a wingback for some reason.
Achraf Hakimi was the talk of the town in June. Now, don’t get me wrong here; Hakimi is a world-class wingback, perhaps the best in the world. However, did we really need him? Just about a season ago, Chelsea fans were drooling over Reece James and hyping him as the next big thing in England. Suddenly, no one seems to have a problem with James being accommodated as a centerback to fit Hakimi in.
Another vital thing to notice is that James hasn’t been given too many opportunities as a wingback. In most of the big games last season (except the Champions League final), Tuchel decided to take a conservative approach by fielding Azpilicueta as a wingback. However, in the few crucial games that James did play as a wingback, he was absolutely on fire; just ask Manchester City’s Benjamin Mendy.
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There is also the debate over Chelsea’s interest in Adama Traore. Recent reports state that Chelsea is genuinely interested in signing him. Many fans are of the opinion that Traore could be a great addition to the squad if he comes cheap. However, I beg to differ. Buying a world-class wingback like Hakimi is still justifiable to an extent, even if it comes at the expense of James and his attacking output (and an academy prospect). However, settling for a squad player like Traore for the sake of “depth” does not make sense at all.
If Tuchel wants depth in the wingback position, he should look towards the academy and the loan army. Valentino Livramento could prove to be a brilliant backup option, and his time with the first team will be invaluable for his future. Again, before you call me out for hyping the youth, it is important to understand that Livramento was just unstoppable last season, and he was the Academy Player of the Year.
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How do you think Chelsea should approach the market? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!