Whoever ends up taking Chelsea Football Club off the hands of Roman Abramovich – at no little expense we should add – will face a multitude of key decisions. Some may prove popular with supporters. Others may not. The hope is, however, that the club continues to operate at the highest level, that the on-pitch success enjoyed over the past 19 years continues.
Crucial in ensuring that happens is Thomas Tuchel. He is the biggest asset Chelsea possess at this moment, something that has been highlighted time and time again over the past month. Tuchel has faced the most difficult of questions and had to handle the most unexpected of circumstances amid the fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine Throughout it all, the German has acted with dignity and class, while also ensuring results haven't suffered.
Tuchel will need to be reassured in the months ahead that the Chelsea he has grown to love and appreciate will not change. And that his squad will remain among the best in European football so that the Blues can continue to compete for both the Premier League and the Champions League. In order to do that, there will be difficult choices to make along the way.
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Andreas Christensen appears Barcelona-bound, but what about club captain Cesar Azpilicueta? And can Chelsea convince Antonio Rudiger, who like the aforementioned duo is out of contract in the summer, to remain at Stamford Bridge during what will be an inevitable period of uncertainty?
Beyond that, comes arguably two bigger calls over the futures of both Jorginho and N'Golo Kante. The deals of the two midfielders expire at the end of the 2022/23 season and Chelsea's next owners will have to make the call as to what comes next for the Italian and Frenchman.
For Jorginho, a summer move to Serie A may appeal. And last week, his agent, Joao Santos, spoke publicly once again about the 30-year-old being open to a return to Italian football ."Playing in Serie A is a dream for him and his heart remains here," Santos told Tuttomercatoweb. "As things stand today, he could play for four or five clubs: Milan, Inter, Juve, Roma or Napoli. There are many clubs interested in him. In the past I spoke to PSG, Barcelona and also Milan's Ricky Massara. I don't know if the Rossoneri are still interested, though."
Kante's representatives are not so media-friendly – it's unlikely we'll get bi-monthly updates about the World Cup winner's thoughts and feelings on a move away. Yet Chelsea supporters should not expect a plethora of reassuring words about remaining at Stamford Bridge beyond his current contract. That is just not how Kante or his team operate.
The reality is, though, that the Blues would find it incredibly difficult to replace Kante – despite his injuries in recent seasons – were he to leave this summer or at the end of his contract. He is unique. A game-changer. Someone who can be the difference against the very best sides in European football, as was evidenced during Chelsea's run to the Champions League final last season.
"You can't help but smile [when you think about N'Golo]," Rob Green, former Chelsea goalkeeper and teammate of Kante, told football.london last month. "He is very quiet and the most unassuming person you'd ever want to meet. From a football sense, what is there left to say? I remember when he had racked up the most interceptions in the Premier League, I asked him to explain how he did that? What did he look for? How do you make the interception?
"He said to me, 'I stand there, watch the player, and think about where they will pass the ball. Then I go and stand in that space.' It is that simple but he is doing that against the very best players in the world and working it all out so quickly. It will be something like him taking three or four steps to the right – again in such an unassuming way – that you think that it was easy. But he'll do it again. And again. He'll do it against Liverpool. Then Manchester United. Then Manchester City. He keeps on doing it against the best sides, keeps on finding a way to win back the ball."
Kante is undoubtedly one of the greatest Chelsea players of all time; the only trophy missing from his collection is the League Cup. Every other piece of silverware has been secured since he joined the club from Leicester City in the summer of 2016 for a bargain £30million, and it would be disingenuous to not appreciate the role the France international has played in many of those successes.
Yet not even Kante can stop Father Time, however. It's why the next Chelsea owner will have to decide whether it's worth keeping the 31-year-old at Stamford Bridge until his retirement or whether the time to say goodbye is fast approaching. It's far from an easy decision yet there are going to be a lot of those in the post-Abramovich era.
