Thomas Tuchel has not scheduled any holiday as he bids to get straight to work on Chelsea’s new era under the Todd Boehly-led consortium.
Boehly received confirmation on the final clearing of his takeover from Government, the Premier League and Europe, with Chelsea now preparing an announcement on the club’s change of ownership.
There will be no time for celebrations and head coach Tuchel, unlike a number of Premier League players and managers, has not marked the end of the season by taking a private jet to a luxury resort.
Instead, Tuchel has remained at his home near Chelsea’s Cobham training ground to immerse himself in transfer meetings and how Boehly and his consortium want to plot their way through the start of the club’s post-Roman Abramovich era.
Tuchel could still take a break later in the summer if Chelsea’s situation allows it, but he has nothing planned and his main priority is to navigate his way through a squad overhaul and plot how the club can close the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool - which Boehly and his consortium are determined to do.
Boehly, who friends say spends more hours on his jet than in any of his homes, is expected to spend significant time in London, as he already has done through the takeover process, to hold talks with Tuchel and other key heads of department over what Chelsea’s new era will look like.
As revealed by Telegraph Sport, Boehly is ready to hand Tuchel £200million to spend, but, just as important as the money, will be a recognition from Chelsea’s new owners to allow the German to rebuild the squad in his own identity - just as Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp have done.
It will encourage any Chelsea fans who are envious of what Klopp has been allowed to create at Anfield that Liverpool chairman Tom Werner revealed Boehly has already been in touch “picking my brain”.
Of Chelsea’s 26-man first team squad that completed their season with a victory over Watford in front of Boehly last Sunday, issues surround 14 of them with three players - Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Cristensen and Saúl Níguez - certain to leave.
Tuchel will want clarity over captain César Azpilicueta’s future soon, while players such as Marcos Alonso, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Ross Barkley and Kenedy will all be open to moves if Chelsea receive bids.
Big decisions face Chelsea’s new owners and Tuchel over Jorginho and N’Golo Kanté, who both have a year remaining on their contracts, while Romelu Lukaku and his representatives will seek talks over the striker’s future.
Perhaps it was because a door had accidentally been shut in his face on the way to a quiet corner by the bottom of a stairwell that leads up to the press seating at Stamford Bridge, but Tuchel was adamant in a small huddle with journalists last week that Chelsea face a headache this summer.
With the benefit of more time, without a door having hit him in the forehead, and now in the knowledge the change of ownership that will allow Chelsea to operate normally again is about to be announced, Tuchel may also view a period of transition as an opportunity.
It has become apparent since Chelsea’s last title win in 2017 that, while the club has remained competitive and successful in the cup competitions, their strategy needs to change in order to make serious ground on and eventually catch City and Liverpool in the Premier League.
The current squad was signed by six different managers, such was the frequency with which the Stamford Bridge door revolved under Abramovich, and all of them had very different styles and philosophies. Contrast that with City and Liverpool this season, whose squads only contained two players not signed by their current coaches.
Not only does Tuchel need his own players, but he needs his own culture, something which a number of managers, who have repeatedly questioned motivation levels during bad periods, have been unable to foster with a group of players who have known that Chelsea players have enjoyed far longer lifespans than their head coaches.
The Boehly group, which includes season ticket holders Daniel Finkelstein and Barbara Charone, have been hugely impressed by the way Tuchel has dealt with the impact of the restrictions that were put on Chelsea as part of the sanctions placed on Abramovich.
They also rate him as one of the very best head coaches in the world and want to allow the German to redirect all of his energy and focus into football and his squad, rather than having to deal with issues surrounding global or club politics.
There has been criticism from supporters that Tuchel had to face all of the questions on the subject of Abramovich and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while chairman Bruce Buck remained silent, and fans can expect more dialogue from the board under the Boehly regime.
Abramovich and his close-knit team created a cut-throat win-at-all-costs mentality at Chelsea which carried advantages and disadvantages, and is likely to evolve over time in the Boehly era.
While he makes success front and centre of his strategy, those who know Boehly’s work in business and as a part-owner of the LA Dodgers baseball team expect Stamford Bridge to become a more nurturing environment under the new consortium - both for players and staff. Mason Mount and Reece James could be early beneficiaries of a desire to reward high performance, with talks over new contracts for both players likely to take place.
Chelsea chewed up and spat out their fair share of big name players and managers during 19 highly successful years under Abramovich. That approach may no longer be sustainable and Klopp’s ‘mentality monsters’ at Liverpool are programmed differently to the likes of Petr Cech, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba who could live with and thrive under the constant threat of change.
Boehly is very much the face of Chelsea’s new era, but, on the pitch, Tuchel has the chance to build the start of it in his image.
