Graham Potter could pick up the mantle where it was left by Thomas Tuchel in the transfer window as Todd Boehly prepares to spend big in 2023.
The new co-owner has already spent over £250m in the summer. To fully revamp and reform the squad inherited this season by Potter, it could take just as much again. After Tuchel pursued a range of targets across Europe, Chelsea are still in dire need of new acquisitions and a host of outgoings and a concrete transfer plan.
It's a lot to ask for under a new manager and owner, but the specialist recruitment team in place is set up to bring better results over a long period of time. Easier said than done, but the challenge has been accepted.
READ MORE: Chelsea star Ruben Loftus-Cheek may face anxious World Cup wait amid England injury issue
Chiefly among the first tasks for the next two windows is to continue the defensive rebuild. Although midfield enforcement and attacking solutions are also needed, Potter was working with just five fit defenders before the domestic break, not something conducive to playing with a five-man backline.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek's injury against Newcastle made things worse, as does the added worry of Kalidou Koulibaly playing international football for Senegal at the World Cup shortly after his own fitness issues. A backup is still needed for Reece James too.
In order to bring in ample replacements in defence, Potter may well look at an old target for the club, one that Tuchel thought he was getting. Croatian defender Joska Gvardiol appeared close to joining towards the end of the summer but instead went back to RB Leipzig and signed a new long-term deal.
Although it was seen as a play by the 20-year-old to secure better terms with his club, it doesn't mean a move away is at all unlikely. Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano told CaughtOffside, "They [Chelsea] wanted him for 2023 in an €80m (£69m) deal plus add-ons, but Leipzig refused.
"At the moment, I'm told Chelsea remain interested, but there's still nothing agreed; the race is open, and nothing will happen now as he's 100% focused on World Cup."
Gvardiol is now contracted until 2027 in Germany, but a similar ploy was taken with Christopher Nkunku. The Frenchman was heavily pushed for by Chelsea and other top clubs before then signing a new deal over the summer and seemingly putting off a move. Only months later, Nkunku has a pre-agreement with Chelsea to join in 2023, football.london understands. The Blues won't be able to watch him at the tournament after being withdrawn from France's squad with an injury.
Gvardiol is one of the brightest young centre-backs in the world and is set to feature heavily for his nation at the World Cup in Qatar. Croatia's first game is against Morocco on Wednesday. The Blues signed Kovacic himself off the back of the 2018 Russia World Cup, first taking him on a season-long loan from Real Madrid before buying him permanently in 2019 for £40m.
Mateo Kovacic may well be used as an intermediary to a deal. Given his seniority in the Croatia team, it is yet another scouting mission for the Blues to embark upon during the festival of football.
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