The last seven months have been anything but predictable at Chelsea Football Club. The Blues began the year by dropping out of the title race due to injuries to both starting wingbacks, Ben Chilwell and Reece James. Their struggles domestically continued and they took that poor form to the FIFA Club World Cup. Chelsea was able to emerge victorious from that tournament—just barely—before things went completely south. The Russian invasion of Ukraine sparked controversy that bled into the footballing world when the UK government sanctioned the Blues’ owner, Roman Abramovich. The club has since been sold to Todd Boehly and his consortium.
Amidst all of this uncertainty one thing seemed obvious: Chelsea was going to make Jules Kounde its first signing of the summer after almost a year of flirting with the transfer. Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly’s additions ensured this was not the case, but even despite these moves, the Blues were still pursuing a deal with the Sevilla centerback. Before they took the pitch against Arsenal for their final preseason friendly in America, the transfer seemed all but finished. However, Barcelona swooped in and made an eleventh hour attempt at snatching Kounde from Chelsea’s grasp. On Wednesday, the French defender’s move to the Camp Nou was finalized.
Chelsea will officially miss out on the signing of Sevilla centerback Jules Kounde
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano legitimized the claims that a deal was done on Wednesday afternoon when he gave it his signature green light. The “here we go” meant that the Blues have now been bested by the Blaugrana on two separate occasions: Kounde and Raphinha. This disappointing development represents yet another depressing day in what’s shaping up to be a catastrophic summer for Chelsea.
The Blues weren’t expected to compete for the Premier League title anytime soon, especially not after the events that’ve taken place during the current calendar yet. Nevertheless, they were expected to still field a competitive squad capable of reaching the top four. As things stand, Chelsea has the fifth or sixth best team in England’s top flight. The 4-0 drubbing at the hands of the Gunners—albeit a preseason match—was eye opening to so many supporters. While the Blues have added two phenomenal players to their roster this transfer window, they need a lot more help if they want any chance at securing a Champions League spot for 2023/24.
Things have seemingly reached a boiling point in west London. Tuchel expressed his frustration with the current situation following the recent Arsenal defeat in Orlando:
"“I cannot guarantee [that we will be ready at the start of the season] … we have a lot of players that think about leaving and look for other options, and this for me is obvious. Unfortunately, [this game] proved my point, the last week proves my point. I would prefer not to be right, and I did everything to prove myself wrong, but at this moment I feel I was right when I looked at last season and the parts of the season where we struggled. We had an urgent appeal for quality players and a huge amount of quality players. We got two quality players in, there’s no doubt, but we are not competitive like this.”"
Even though Tuchel has a tendency to overreact—especially following defeat—he is spot on with his assessment of the team right now. Chelsea is in the midst of a retooling, but things are looking all too grim, even for a period of rebuilding. The Blues have been unable to sign a few of the players they’ve targeted and they’ve also struggled to offload a lot of the deadwood in the first team. There is approximately a month left of the transfer window and Chelsea needs to get down to business or it runs the risk of a dismal upcoming season.
Do you think the Blues should’ve pursued Kounde a bit harder? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter!