Continuing from part 1

4.  MIDFIELD

 As far as Midfield is concerned, West Ham’s Declan Rice has been the club's dream signing due to inconsistency in Jorginho’s performance along with Rice’s ability to make a humongous impact in the midfield. Chelsea considered buying Rice last summer and it was thought their interest ended when previous coach Frank Lampard was sacked in January. However, it is understood successor Tuchel is an admirer too, and has been discussing the England international with staff members. West Ham, on the other hand, don’t want to sell him, so it would take a big bid to convince them — which is why Monaco’s talented France Under-21 international Aurelien Tchouameni is on the wishlist as an alternative. The club will listen to offers for Tiemoue Bakayoko, Ross Barkley and Davide Zappacosta with Fiorentina having made contact with the Blues for a loan with option to buy deal for Bakayoko. The club will also open talks to tie down their crown jewel N’Golo Kante to a new contract with 2 years remaining on the current deal. The French maestro is looking to stay at Chelsea for a long period of time and is expected to sign a new contract with the club in no time.

There is a bit of uncertainty surrounding Callum Hudson-Odoi, with Dortmund viewing him as a possible replacement for Sancho. His game time under Tuchel diminished drastically in recent months, although there is no indication as yet that he wants to leave. With the club being stocked with a barrage of attackers at every position, Hudson Odoimight lean towards the exit door to get more game time and improve his chances of establishing his place in the English National team. The club could opt to cash in to generate funds for signing the needed players for the club.

5.  ATTACK

The club’s main concern arises in its forwards division with Olivier Giroud joining AC Milan on free transfer while local lad Tammy Abraham is in the state of ‘I had its enough and it's time to leave’. The club is willing to listen to offers above £40 Million with Aston Villa and Crystal Palace interested in signing him. The club will also offload MichyBatshuayi from their books on a permanent cut price deal as well. With the departure of three forwards from the club, the club would definitely have to look to sign a world class forward to fill the void. The club has laid out a backup plan of using Timo Werner as the main forward while Kai Havertz being a No. 10 could be operated as a False 9. However, it has been reported that Olivier Giroud has had a change of heart and signed a one year extension with the club till 2022. Giroud’s stay for another year at Chelsea might help the club to delay their search for signing a striker for another year which could strengthen their chances to put their name in the hat for signing Norwegian forward Erling Haaland who has a €75 Million release clause which could be activated from Summer 2022 onwards.

It’s been a tough year for every football club in financial terms and Chelsea felt the pinch like any other club, especially after their humongous spending in the last season. However, winning UCL have helped the club to substantially recover losses owing to Pandemic and transfer spending as well. The club eyed their former player Romelu Lukaku as well as Tottenham’s Harry Kane as their primary target to lead the club’s attack.

Harry Kane is pushing to move from Tottenham and Tuchel has confirmed he would love to work with the England captain. However, Spurs have shown in the past that they do not want to sell players to London rivals, and their stance isn’t going to change. Romelu Lukaku, on the other hand, would have rejoined Chelsea in 2017, but got ended up at Manchester United after leaving Everton. His sale could have been a relief for Inter Milan in terms of reduction in financial troubles while Lukaku would also be unsettled in the club post departure of Antonio Conte who brought out the best in him unlike other managers under whom he played with. However, in an interview, he stated his desire to continue at Inter and help them win the UEFA Champions league instead of returning back to England.

Chelsea is also realistically weighing up the possibility of promoting academy graduate Armando Broja to the first team next season. The 19 year old Albanian forward, having an impressive loan spell at Vitesse is being talked among the officials as the prime contender to make it to the first team as a zero cost, back up striker and the club has already opened talks with the player for a new contract.

6.  YOUNG PLAYERS

Tuchel has earmarked certain players who will be keenly observed in the pre-season with a view to potentially join the first team squad. The list of those players include Conor Gallagher, who did well at West Bromwich Albion despite their relegation back to the Championship along with Marc Guehi, Ethan Ampaduand Malang Sarrwho would save the club some money by removing the need to buy another defender. As for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, his so-so spell at Fulham, who went down with West Brom, means another loan is more likely.

Billy Gilmour will also have to make a decision -whether he goes out on loan to get more regular first-team football. This in turn could have an impact on academy player Lewis Bate’s situation, whileTino Livramento is worried about his chances of making a breakthrough due to the competition ahead of him — an issue that would be made worse should someone such as Hakimi arrive.As for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, his so-so spell at Fulham, who went down with West Brom, means another loan is more likely.

Click here for part -1