HBranscombe: What do you think is going to happen with the midfield next season?
Adam says: "I think there will be a refresh in midfield, just how big that is will come down to the decisions of the next owners. There is concrete interest from Juventus in Jorginho and with just one year left on his contract, it may be the right time for the Italian to depart – for the right fee, of course.
"N'Golo Kante is in the same position in terms of his contract as Jorginho and there is a huge call to make over the Frenchman given he has struggled for form in 2022. Do Chelsea sell if a sizeable offer is received, perhaps from Paris Saint-Germain who are long-term admirers and may have Antonio Conte in charge next season? It's such a tough one, that.
"The alternative is Chelsea offer Kante a new deal because the last thing the club needs – and the last thing Thomas Tuchel wants – is another contractual situation overshadowing everything next season. So a decision will have to be made one way or the other.
READ MORE: Thomas Tuchel must continue to trust in Jorginho as Chelsea star apologises to supporters
"In terms of the rest of the midfielders, Mateo Kovacic's position is set and Saul will return to Atletico Madrid at the end of his loan. Ross Barkley will be allowed to leave too. My gut feeling at the moment is Ruben Loftus-Cheek stays, partly because he is on a big contract that he won't get elsewhere but also because he's proved his versatility in recent weeks and having someone like that in the squad is a bonus.
"Conor Gallagher (unless something dramatic happens post-takeover) will join up with the first-team squad for pre-season and is expected to be given a role by Tuchel. Billy Gilmour could be reintegrated after his rather disastrous Norwich loan, but that's a call for Tuchel to make.
"In terms of signings, Chelsea had two leading midfield targets in Declan Rice and Aurelien Tchouameni prior to the club's sale. Neither were expected to come cheap. It seems incredibly difficult to get Rice out of West Ham this summer – perhaps even impossible if they win the Europa League.
"A lot of work has been done on Tchouameni – I've been told that Chelsea's interest and contact with him stretches all the way to his days with Bordeaux. The problem is Real Madrid have made headway in the time that the Blues have been sanctioned so I'm not as confident on that deal as a couple of months ago."
CFCBecs: Thomas Tuchel has been a godsend in the last 15 months of his Chelsea tenure, impressing both off and on the field in his dual coach-ambassador role.
A manager who's arguably primed to challenge Liverpool and City for the league, could we perhaps see his patience waning and his frustrations with the lack of clarity around his squad and future signings becoming more apparent in the next 12 months?
Adam says: "Obviously, one of the big concerns many supporters had prior to Thomas Tuchel taking charge was his record of falling out with those above him over transfers, club decisions. There has been none of that at Chelsea thus far as he has genuinely appreciated and enjoyed the working relationship between himself, Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech.
"The big unknown at this stage is whether that triumphant will be altered, added to, or broken up after the takeover. If so, Chelsea's next owner(s) will have to make sure Tuchel is supported correctly and listened to on team matters. That, in my opinion, doesn't mean giving him complete control over transfers, but it does mean working smartly to give Tuchel players that suit the football he wants to play and implement as Chelsea look to hunt down Man City and Liverpool.
"If that happens, then there's no reason to suspect he'll become frustrated as he enjoys working at Chelsea in a way he didn't at Dortmund and PSG. If it doesn't... well, then we'll see how strong that bond with the club truly is."
BrockS: Have the three bidding parties met with Tuchel yet? If yes, do you have visibility on what they have discussed? If not, do you know why they haven't met?
Adam says: "From what I've been told – and I've not seen anything reported to the contrary – Tuchel hasn't met with any of the bidders for Chelsea thus far. He said earlier this month that he wasn't sure he should meet the prospective bidders and that he wanted to get involved in the process "as late as possible".
"I'm sure once the process has been narrowed down to the preferred bidder – which will hopefully happen in the coming days – a conversation will take place. It has to really as Chelsea are going to have to work fast to ensure they go into the summer transfer window with targets identified and decisions made over which players can move on."
TrueBlueChelsea: How do you rate the chances of our academy graduates like Gallagher, Broja, Ampadu, Gilmour, Colwill, Sterling, making it to the first team and who do you see as the favourites in this takeover and what are the chances of Marina [Granovskaia] staying on?
Adam says: "Of the academy graduates you've mentioned, I'm confident Gallagher will be given a first-team role next term. And unless an early loan move or two are sorted, I suspect Colwill, Sterling, Gilmour and Broja will almost certainly all be involved in pre-season and given the chance to make an impression. Personally, I think all have the talent and potential to be incorporated, but then I'm not the Chelsea head coach!
"Ampadu is an interesting one. He signed a new three-year contract before heading out on loan to Venezia and did well enough during the first half of the season that a couple of other Serie A clubs showed some interest in January, one of which I gather was Fiorentina. If that interest remains this summer, Chelsea may have a decision to make.
"In terms of the takeover, I'll be completely honest, it's impossible to pick a favourite. All three consortiums are confident and all three have put forward strong bids. It's very much down to those at Chelsea now. On Marina, I think it's logical that she at least stays on for a handover period, especially with the transfer window on the horizon. Although I know that may not be every supporter's preference!"
HBranscombe: Purely as a prediction how do you see the summer window unfolding?
Adam says: "That is a difficult one to answer until the takeover is complete in truth. What is clear, though, is there is a fair bit of work for Chelsea to undertake this summer. Of course, with Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger departing, at least one defender has to be signed in addition to, for argument's sake, Levi Colwill being incorporated.
"Another right wing-back is needed to cover for Reece James and probably another left wing-back will be required with Marcos Alonso only having a year left on his contract and not offering the same level of performance this season in the absence of Ben Chilwell.
"Then we get to the midfield uncertainty as discussed earlier and the Romelu Lukaku problem, which will not be easy to solve unless a) Chelsea are prepared to take a rather big financial hit, and b) he is willing to take a pay-cut on his current salary to leave Stamford Bridge."
Kai029: Kai Havertz's goals have dried up since Southampton and he isn't making the quality runs he used to – still better than others. Do you think it is because of pressure by Thomas Tuchel when star signing like Romelu Lukaku are not getting the results and playing more minutes than usual?
Adam says: "I think it's simply fatigue on the part of Havertz – it's why Tuchel tried to rest the German against Arsenal last week. It's not only that he has started a lot of games over the past two months, but the amount of work he gets through off the ball often goes unnoticed. He puts in a huge physical effort every game and it's no surprise that it has started to have an effect.
"It wouldn't totally surprise me if he's on the bench against Manchester United on Thursday with Lukaku given an opportunity to start against his old club. Hopefully, with a match or two off, Havertz would be refreshed and ready for the FA Cup final. That's the game Chelsea need him at his best for."
