Chelsea transfers: Summer sale fund must be put to use

Chelsea has been busy during the summer months, but not particularly to the supporters’ satisfaction. While Marina Granovskaia, Petr Cech and the rest of the club’s decision makers were hard at work bringing new names to Stamford Bridge last season, they’re doing the opposite right now. The Blues have been raising funds over the last few weeks—selling Victor Moses, Fikayo Tomori, Olivier Giroud and Marc Guehi. Ike Ugbo, Lewis Bate and multiple other youngsters don’t seem too far behind them either.

These sales have brought in more than £50 million and freed up a few spots in the squad. Despite all of this activity on the outgoing front, Chelsea has yet to register a single new player. The Blues have been after big names like Erling Haaland and Declan Rice, but nothing has materialized thus far. Chelsea needs to strike while the iron is hot, capitalize on its Champions League success and put those funds to use this summer.

Chelsea needs to spend the money raised this summer on new transfers.

Thomas Tuchel stated numerous times last season that he was thrilled with the size of his team. This was a crucial talking point seeing as Frank Lampard harped on the fact his squad was bloated on numerous occasions before the German took charge. While Tuchel may have been satisfied at the time—his UCL success proving he could work with the hand he was dealt—that may not be the case any longer. The more the season dragged on, the worse the Blues’ offensive output seemingly became. The talking point of the summer was rightly a No. 9 to cure the scoring woes.

As things stand, Tuchel will trot his team out against Crystal Palace on August 14 with no new additions up top (or anywhere else on the pitch for that matter). Timo Werner and Kai Havertz remain the likely candidates to lead the line for the Blues after Tammy Abraham struggled for minutes under the former Paris Saint-Germain boss. Best case scenario would be Abraham and Tuchel finding a way to make it work as Chelsea doesn’t want to let another talented academy graduate depart. They may have to find a way if the Blues cannot pry Haaland, Romelu Lukaku or Harry Kane away from their current clubs.

Elsewhere on the pitch, it’s looking ominous in the middle of the park. Chelsea will head into the upcoming campaign with three true midfielders as of now. There is a chance for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Conor Gallagher or another former loanee to remain in SW6, but they have all been rumored to be leaving on loan. The loan army returnees do offer somewhat of a solution for Tuchel though. If the Blues fail to strengthen his side in the transfer market, there are a lot of exciting prospects currently in the camp. Gallagher and Armando Broja are just two of the names that come to mind.

The reality is the Blues simply have to splash some cash this summer. The reigning Champions of Europe are currently striking out in embarrassing fashion. It’s still mid-July so there is no need to panic at the moment, but if August 14 rolls around and Tuchel has no new faces in his camp, it’ll be time to worry. Sitting on a goldmine of money from sales, only to do nothing with it, would paint the board in a bad light. Many Chelsea fans are nearing frustration levels similar to the 2017/18 transfer window where some bad judgement was on display for the world to see. The Blues are coming off a UCL-winning season, but haven’t challenged for the domestic title since winning it during Antonio Conte’s first season. Ignorance is not an option if they want to keep their seat amongst Europe’s elite.

Who do you think the Blues should bring in this summer? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!