Chaotic Chelsea must call a halt to scattergun strategy
Matt Law
https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/chaotic-Chelsea-must-call-a-halt-to-scattergun-strategy-42263102.html
At the start of September, Thomas Tuchel was introduced to Chelsea’s final signing of the summer transfer window. But for a split second, the club’s former head coach could not immediately put a name to the face.
Fortunately, Tuchel was able to identify Denis Zakaria quickly enough that the moment did not become embarrassing, but it served to underline the chaotic nature of Chelsea’s business. There is a certain irony in the fact that Tuchel was sacked a few days after Zakaria’s arrival, which he had no knowledge of until their introduction, for not being collaborative enough for the liking of Chelsea’s Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership.
Tuchel had been very much part of the rest of Chelsea’s business, identifying Raheem Sterling as his top target and helping the club to sign Carney Chukwuemeka by speaking personally to the midfielder, even though there was little prospect of the teen making an immediate impact in his team.
Zakaria, however, was signed on loan for the season with no input from Tuchel and it was not until November that the Switzerland international made his Chelsea debut, long after Tuchel had been replaced by Graham Potter.
Having previously only started in the Champions League and the Carabao Cup, Zakaria made his first Premier League appearances in Chelsea’s last two games.
As Chelsea prepare to welcome Manchester City tonight, it is clear that the chaos of the summer needs to be replaced by clear thinking if the Potter project is to prove successful.
The approach to the January window already appears to be somewhat scattergun, with a move for Monaco’s 21-year-old defender Benoit Badiashile quickly being arranged, which places a question mark against the long-term interest in Josko Gvardiol, over whom Chelsea held talks during the summer and since.
There is also the issue of what it means for the future of Levi Colwill, who is two years younger than Badiashile and is excelling on loan at Brighton, whom Chelsea trail by two points despite them taking Potter, his backroom staff, recruitment guru Paul Winstanley and wing-back Marc Cucurella from the club.
Boehly and his co-controlling partner Behdad Eghbali have spent time making inroads into the Jude Bellingham camp, and have been planning to take part in what promises to be a summer auction for the midfielder. Strong interest has also been retained in West Ham’s Declan Rice, a player Potter is known to admire, and yet Chelsea have now offered to pay more than £100m (€113.7m) for Enzo Fernandez, who enjoyed an excellent World Cup with Argentina but has made only 14 league appearances for Benfica.
At least there appears to be a succession plan of sorts for midfielders N’Golo Kante and Jorginho, who remain in talks over signing new contracts but are now both aged over 30 and arguably past their peaks.
Chelsea confirmed the final appointment of their new recruitment team, Christopher Vivell as technical director, just before Christmas and it is yet to be made clear how decisions are being arrived at.
Indeed, it is Boehly who is believed to have scheduled talks with Shakhtar Donetsk over winger Mykhailo Mudryk, who has agreed personal terms with Arsenal.
A deal has already been agreed for forward Christopher Nkunku to join in the summer, which begs the question over whether enough thought has gone into how Potter would be expected to incorporate the Frenchman, Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Kai Havertz and Mudryk, were he to join, into his plans.
Arsenal’s rise to the top of the league has given Chelsea food for thought over what can be achieved by sticking by a coach they believe in and assembling a talented young squad free of egos.
City, Liverpool and Arsenal have also provided examples of why sales will be just as important as new signings if Chelsea are to be successful. Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta were all allowed to cull their squads, taking hits on players the club had previously invested heavily in.
Crucially, they were also given plenty of time and patience for their overhauls to be completed. Guardiola ended his first season in charge of City without a trophy and having completed his worst-ever run, failing to win in six games. Liverpool finished Klopp’s first season in charge in eighth place and did not win the league until he had been at the club almost five years. Arteta survived one of Arsenal’s worst-ever starts to a season and failure to qualify for the Champions League.
Any realistic hope of Chelsea finishing in the top four this season might be extinguished by City tonight, but it will take rational thinking, rather than chaos and desperation, to put them back on the same path as their opponents.
