Where will Tuchel’s Chelsea rebuild start?
Robin Bairner
- 19 May 2022 11:37 BST
- 3 min read
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted that his squad needs rebuilt in the summer and not improved.
The difference between the two is stark. It indicates that the Stamford Bridge side are about to embark on a new project rather than building upon the one that saw them lift the Champions League title in 2021.
It has been a tricky campaign for the club. While recent months have been dominated by Roman Abramovich’s forced sale, which has plunged the team into uncertainty, the likelihood of a significant turnover of playing staff was already high due to numerous players being out of contract.
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Allied to underperformance of other players, such as record signing Romelu Lukaku and the ongoing disappointment of Timo Werner, this has long promised to be a watershed summer for the club.
“We are rebuilding, not improving the squad. We are rebuilding. This is always challenging but we are up for the challenge,” Tuchel confirmed on Wednesday before making it clear where his priorities lies in the summer transfer market.
Which position will Chelsea prioritise in the summer transfer window?
While the news lines are dominated by the future of Lukaku, Chelsea’s biggest worries lie at the other end of the park.
The defence is set to be decimated by players leaving for free. Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen will go to Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, while Cesar Azpilicueta’s future remains up in the air. It means the whole rearguard will need entirely reconstructed – and this is a fact not lost on Tuchel.
“We had a core in the back three and we even have an issue with Thiago Silva. He is not Benjamin Button. It seems like he is, but he’s not. He is getting older,” he said. “It would have maybe been enough to find a natural replacement for this kind of position and keep everybody else. Suddenly we lose two, three, three-and-a-half players at the back and this is actually concerning.”
Defenders might not make for the biggest headlines or the sexiest signings for supporters, but this is where Chelsea’s rebuild will primarily focus, at least to begin with.
Read more about: Premier League, Chelsea
