Chelsea have seen the first sign of commitment from the Todd Boehly consortium after £100million in new shares were pumped into the club.
Boehly’s consortium officially completed their £4.25billion takeover of Chelsea on May 30 after the group beat off the competition. The drawn-out process saw the club’s ownership pass from Roman Abramovich to US businessman Boehly and a group majority-funded by private equity firm Clearlake Capital.
In their successful proposal, the new owners had promised to set aside £1.75bn to fund "investments in Stamford Bridge, the academy, the women's team and Kingsmeadow and continued funding for the Chelsea Foundation". Thomas Tuchel’s first team squad is also due major investment this summer, with the transfer window looming.
Sanctions imposed by the UK Government on Chelsea following Russia ’s invasion of Ukraine had put the club in a period of stasis and confusion. The club were unable to sign new players or offer contract extensions to current ones throughout March, April and May.
That difficult spell for the Blues is now over, with the Boehly takeover showing an immediate impact to the club’s books. Documents submitted to Companies House on June 7 show an extra £100m in shares were pumped into the club on June 1 – just two days after the takeover was officially rubber-stamped by the government and Premier League.
The financial boost comes at the perfect time for Chelsea, who are aiming to repair the damage done by the end of the Abramovich era. The club are set to lose Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen at the end of the month, while doubts surround many other important players, like captain Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso and Romelu Lukaku.
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According to The Telegraph , Boehly held face-to-face talks with Tuchel in recent days to reassure him of the new ownership group’s commitment to his project. In financial terms that means a summer transfer budget of around £200m, and in practical terms that means Tuchel will have the final say over all transfers.
Tuchel will still work closely with director Marina Granovskaia and technical and performance advisor Petr Cech, but the German will be granted more influence this summer. Boehly and his backers are understood to view Tuchel as one of the club’s biggest assets and believe the best way forward is to involve him in all decisions.
The Telegraph says that could mean that Chelsea try to move on Lukaku, just a year after paying Inter Milan a club-record £97.5m for his services. Lukaku endured a difficult first season back at Stamford Bridge, contributing just 15 goals in 43 appearances across all competitions. He frequently looked at odds with Tuchel’s style of play. Inter might be willing to take the Belgian back, but would only be able to take him on an initial loan, while the Blues would have to contribute to his wages.
Chelsea are looking to bolster their attack by considering the likes of Ousmane Dembele, who is soon to be out of contract at Barcelona, and Manchester City ’s Raheem Sterling and RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku. Defence remains a priority, with Sevilla’s Jules Kounde, Juventus ’ Matthijs de Ligt and Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol all options.
