Thankfully we are entering the final stage of the £4.25billion Chelsea Football Club sale. The situation was a brief saga, but a particularly concerning one for the Blues faithful nonetheless. It appears as though the Boehly-Clearlake group will take the reins at Stamford Bridge, to the relief and hopeful delight of all Pensioners fans. Todd Boehly is expected to even heighten the brand of CFC, as he did with the LA Dodgers. In addition, his franchises always seem to prosper, so I envision more prosperity for the West London side.
Pride of London shall now outline three things the new Chelsea owners must do immediately upon arrival on Fulham Road.
Offer new, long-term contracts to vital players
Reece James and Mason Mount have to be secured as part of the core Chelsea team for years and years to come. It is absolutely essential – which is why I talked about it first. And that actually applies even when talking transfers. I clearly believe that they are amongst the Premier League’s most exciting, hardworking, skilled and entertaining competitors. I am sure you will all agree.
James and Mount were formerly two of England’s most promising players. In contemporary times they have become a pair who cannot be dropped when fit in a first choice XI. In the future they certainly will be at the prominent end of the national team. Gareth Southgate is a lucky man, as is Blues boss Thomas Tuchel.
James’ attributes and performances have won him worldwide plaudits; he is a likeable, focused young professional who is a credit to the game. The 22-year-old is as potent an attacker as he is occasionally an impenetrable defender. Meanwhile midfielder Mount is equally as valuable; in all competitions this campaign, the Three Lions man has currently produced 12 goals and supplied 15 assists.
Happily for Pensioners followers, deterring interest in the pair by awarding fresh lucrative deals is on Boehly’s to-do list. Assessing whether paying requests of Cesar Azpilicueta and N’golo Kante, in particular, is a part of the inventory, too.
Appraise club staff, other fringe and loan athletes, along with Chelsea’s ground
OK, this intermediate list might be a boring, or not as interesting as speaking signings. Yet PoL’s suggestion or proposal here had to include wise prudence and due diligence. Of course this will only happen as soon as red tape like passing the Premier League’s owners and directors test concludes.
Firstly, among Boehly’s reported personal priorities upon taking control with his associates, is ground expansion. Redevelopment at the Bridge was apparently a key element in the collective emerging as the favoured party. Readers will probably be surprised or shocked to learn that the Londoners’ home has only the ninth largest capacity among English stadia. I know, right. Wow. A thorough face-lift is arguably necessary; and the inclusion of property developer Jonathan Goldstein in the consortium bodes well with regard to a makeover.
Furthermore, architect and experienced huge arena developer, Janet Marie Smith was also consulted. Previous and now expired planning permission was set to expand ground capacity from around 40,000 to approximately 60,000. Which is possibly an indication of numbers to expect if agreements are remade. A potential budget of £1bn for the project will propel ‘Chels’ to the magnitude of other big six sides.
Whether or not to keep hold of Marina Granovskaia and Bruce Buck is another area of interest; providing staying is their respective wishes, as is apparently so. The United Kingdom government is said to not have concerns over the pair remaining due to their connection to former chief Roman Abramovich. DCMS Committee Chair Julian Knight’s opinion is that not severing links to the Russian entirely would be an ‘unsettling development’, as per SI.
I advise the club to continue the mega loan protocol: the process enabled greatness from contemporary and formerly undroppable squad members. Obviously the aforementioned duo of James and Mount undertook successful temporary moves; benefitting their development and the XI no end. Armando Broja is a fine example of a model working well.
Though encouraging a deeper quality of roster – as with Liverpool – by offloading deadwood team members, is another vital facet of footballing fortune. An unpleasant but important strategy in closing this gap with the Reds and Manchester City. Which takes us nicely into our final section: new players.
Reassure Thomas Tuchel by backing him financially
Retaining Antonio Rudiger may have been possible if the switch of ownership was somehow done quicker, or occurred at a different time of the year or season. But that issue should now be forgotten – however upsetting it is to lose the Germany international. Along with pretermitting Andreas Christensen; who is expected to join Spanish giants Barcelona. Woulda, coulda, shoulda comes to mind.
Therefore CFC supporters can move on and dream of capturing global stars on the level of Erling Haaland and the like. If you disagree, ask yourself why a significantly accomplish entrepreneur and sporting leader, namely Todd Boehly, would acquire the organisation? To win handsomely. To thrive and flourish. To attain trophies. Those outcomes transpire from having eminent players and an expert to manage them.
Tuchel remaining at the Bridge is part of this point: back him with the funding needed to succeed, as Abramovich did. Replacing Rudiger is impossible, yet offering the amount clubs demand for a similarly skilled and leading centrebacks is a necessity. Then other assets, Levi Colwill for example, can flourish without prospectively having the burden or stress of coming straight in as a starter. If Jules Kounde and Josko Gvardiol are prime targets – grant the man his desires.