Chelsea chief Boehly faces instant transfer headache as Tuchel fears catching Man City and Liverpool ‘almost impossible’

THOMAS TUCHEL can finally plan more than a week ahead now the sale of Chelsea to Todd Boehly is official.

But what the first-team coach sees as he looks up for the first time in three months might not make the best viewing.

Getting the nod from the Government that a £4.25billion takeover by American Boehly can happen means certainty at last at Stamford Bridge.

Even if the club was staying silent on it yesterday, there is a sense now of looking forwards rather than day-to-day.

There are still loose ends to tie up but few doubt this deal will die now.

Which means more work than ever for Tuchel just when the unassuming German deserves a break most having nursed Chelsea through the most difficult 12 weeks of its 117-year history.

.css-16e4f55{margin:16px 0;}.css-1546w7m{background-color:rgba(237,245,242,1);margin:16px 0;}

UK Government sanctions handcuffed a club infamous for massive transfer spending and it remains banned from buying and selling, even talking about new contracts with existing players.

Tuchel has postponed his summer holiday to hold trans-Atlantic planning meetings with Boehly and faces the biggest job of his career trying to reflate Chelsea’s flatlining presence in the Premier League.

There is the obvious chasm at the heart of his defence with Antonio Rudiger having said his goodbyes.

The last great hardman of English football has walked, robbing Chelsea of that physical intimidation at the back.

.css-qu9fel{border-top:1px solid #dcdddd;}.css-b9nmbi{margin-bottom:16px;border-top:1px solid #dcdddd;}

FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS

Replacing a player with the reflexes of Muhammad Ali, the bravery of John Terry and the pent-up aggression of a pensioner in a bus queue is a huge ask.

Sevilla’s Jules Kounde is the man he wants but even if the Frenchman fits the bill, that is just one slot filled.

Also gone is Andreas Christensen, less robust than Rudiger but vastly experienced after ten years attached to a club which places relentless demands on its personnel.

Left-back Marcos Alonso wants out, captain Cesar Azpilicueta would not say no to moving back to Spain. The entire back line is melting away.

Six weeks into next season, veteran centre-back Thiago Silva turns 38.

Stylish as he is, at times the Brazilian looks it too. Tuchel has hard decisions to make.

Boehly and the consortium he spearheads promise £1.75bn of investment over the next decade in their manifesto.

As grand as it sounds, £175m this summer might not be enough to catch up with the two teams that finished above Chelsea in the league this season – Manchester City and Liverpool.

Tuchel already fears it will be an ‘almost impossible’ job playing catch up, triggering suspicions things may get worse before they get better.

Had Antonio Conte been appointed a few weeks earlier at a now resurgent Tottenham, there is every chance Spurs would have clinched third place at Tuchel’s expense.

Two defeats in the last 13 games combined with Chelsea’s shaky form made it more uncomfortable than it should have been.

And Conte is being given £150m for a team that needs tinkering with rather than large scale reconstruction.

It is at the heart of his team where Tuchel also needs to perform surgery.

It might not be as time-sensitive as the major overhaul at the back, but key midfielder Mason Mount must be nailed down to a new long-term contract.

Mount, 23, was crowned Chelsea’s player of the year for the second year in succession after Sunday’s last-gasp win over relegated Watford.

The dyed-in-the-wool Blue is central to the future. But if nothing is done this summer, he will kick off next season with less than two years left on his contract.

Right-back Reece James has one more year than Mount to go but Boehly’s bean-counters can’t let that one slide either. James is considered one of the best in his position in the country.

There is a sense in the Chelsea dressing room that the club left it too late to get Rudiger’s deal done and that drove him to go.

Experienced playmaker Jorginho is another getting itchy feet, threatening another gap in the midfield.

N’Golo Kante has been described as Chelsea’s ‘Mbappe, de Bruyne and van Dijk’ by gushing boss Tuchel. Yet the World Cup winning France midfielder has just endured a patchy season with injury and he is 31.

And don’t forget Tuchel must also find a way to get the best out of £150m duo Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner up front.

.css-16e4f55{margin:16px 0;}.css-1546w7m{background-color:rgba(237,245,242,1);margin:16px 0;}

Finance won’t just turn on like a tap once Boehly and majority shareholder Clearlake Capital get the keys to Stamford Bridge.

It could be weeks before Chelsea are in a position to make formal moves for new players. Tuchel is set fair for the long-term but short-term is still a worry.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk