Opinion: Shambolic transfer record is behind Chelsea’s poor start but Tuchel has to take responsibility too

Posted by

Chelsea have already lost three games this season, and Thomas Tuchel’s mood could not be clearer after yesterday’s latest setback against Dinamo Zagreb.

“We are clearly not there, where we need to be and where we can be. At the moment, everything is missing,” Tuchel said after last night’s game, as quoted by BBC Sport, but how can this be after such a huge summer of investment in the transfer market?

The unfortunate answer for Chelsea is that, for all the money spent this summer, their signings look to have been poorly thought out, while decisions in other recent transfer windows have proven pretty shambolic too.

Looking at this summer, it’s clear a replacement for Romelu Lukaku would be needed pretty much straight away, and yet the club’s only solution to that glaring problem was the Deadline Day arrival of 33-year-old Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Such was Chelsea’s desperation, that he was rushed into Tuchel’s starting line up last night despite looking badly off the pace and still playing in a protective mask after the jaw injury, and not to mention emotional trauma, of the recent assault that took place in his home as he was burgled in Barcelona.

Elsewhere in the squad, sanctions on Roman Abramovich meant that Chelsea couldn’t offer a new contract to Antonio Rudiger, allowing him to leave for Real Madrid on a free. Andreas Christensen was also a free agent, and while he was perhaps less of a major loss, it still left the Blues well short of options at the back. Wesley Fofana looks a genuinely exciting purchase, and easily the club’s best signing this summer, but has arrived late on, without getting the pre-season he could have done with under Tuchel. Kalidou Koulibaly, meanwhile, has not looked convincing, and it’s hardly surprising – this is, after all, a 31-year-old who has spent the bulk of his career in Serie A and who now looks to be past his peak whilst being asked to step up to a far more fast-paced and competitive league.

Kalidou Koulibaly hasn’t made the best start to life at Chelsea

Of course, it’s clear that Koulibaly, and perhaps even Fofana, were not Chelsea’s first choice in defence. CaughtOffside understands the Blues wanted Jules Kounde first, and also held talks over Nathan Ake, while Presnel Kimpembe was another option considered; for one reason or another, these deals weren’t possible, and Koulibaly was, at best, Plan D for the west London giants.

Similarly, we saw Denis Zakaria targeted in literally the final hours of the transfer window despite him not previously being on Chelsea’s agenda at all. Edson Alvarez of Ajax was the club’s preferred target and will be on their agenda again in January, according to the Evening Standard, so once again we’ve seen the club move rather rashly for a player they didn’t particularly want, and who doesn’t look a whole lot better than what they already have in that position.

New owner Todd Boehly has, admittedly, inherited a difficult situation after buying Chelsea from Abramovich – with the previous owner, Marina Granovskaia also left Stamford Bridge, and a new sporting director is yet to be appointed, leaving Boehly to do much of the club’s work in the transfer market; while the money is clearly not a major issue, the old expertise in terms of talent-spotting and negotiating skills of Granovskaia seems to be.

That said, many of these problems in the transfer market pre-date Boehly as well, and this is where Tuchel perhaps needs to take a share of the blame for failing to get the best out of the squad he’s been given. Last summer’s big-money move for Romelu Lukaku was a disaster, especially when combined with the sale of Tammy Abraham, who has been reborn at Roma to look precisely like the number 9 this team so badly needs. You could also be forgiven for forgetting all about that loan move for Saul Niguez, such was his total lack of impact.

Of course, Lukaku did himself no favours with that infamous interview to Sky Italia, but he’s clearly a world class forward whose skills were overlooked by his manager at Chelsea. Having shone as part of a front two at Inter Milan, showing some of the best form of his career, he was far too isolated at Chelsea, who have never really been an attacking force under their current head coach.

Tuchel made Chelsea far more organised and disciplined after taking over from Frank Lampard in January 2021, and it led to a stunning Champions League final victory in his first few months in charge. However, with that triumph has come increased expectations, and the quality to the team’s attacking play simply isn’t there in comparison to the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City.

Lukaku is just one of many examples – Timo Werner also never showed what he’s truly capable of in a Chelsea shirt, Kai Havertz is an elite talent who has gone backwards, so too is Christian Pulisic, and the quality and vision of Hakim Ziyech hasn’t been made full use of. Raheem Sterling could end up being a fine signing, but at the moment he’s completely the wrong fit in this very different style of play from what he’ll have been used to at Manchester City.

According to the Telegraph, Boehly views Tuchel as one of Chelsea’s biggest assets, but one wonders if he might be starting to rethink that soon. Yes, he needs a sporting director to help him with transfers, but after so much investment he could also expect more from Tuchel than a 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb with little in the way of answers afterwards.

More Stories Andreas Christensen Antonio Rudiger Callum Hudson-Odoi Cesar Azpilicueta Cesare Casadei Christian Pulisic Christopher Nkunku Denis Zakaria Hakim Ziyech Kai Havertz Kalidou Koulibaly Marc Cucurella Marcos Alonso Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Raheem Sterling Robert Lewandowski Romelu Lukaku Tammy Abraham Thomas Tuchel Timo Werner Todd Boehly Victor Osimhen Wesley Fofana