There has always been an excuse for why Chelsea's defensive contract crisis has unfolded this season.
Be that the reality both Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger showed levels of form after Thomas Tuchel's appointment that they had not before. The fact that both had rejected offers from the club, in the case of Rudiger – the last being worth £230,000-per-week according to The Athletic.
That they were messed around, the sanctions that have halted all transfer dealings in the past month. The sales of Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi in 2021, two younger options, were sold due to other circumstances out of the club's control. These are all infantile excuses, that continually ask us to believe a club of Chelsea's wealth and excellence could not foresee this defensive crisis unfolding. And if they couldn't, why not?
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Rudiger deciding to leave is not the most shocking revelation. If you had gauged the mood from the early parts of this season when the defender was unwilling to come to the negotiating table, waiting to see who else around Europe would come forward. Due to his importance to Tuchel and his vastly enhanced reputation, the power was always on his side.
Cesar Azpilicueta, despite triggering a clause on his current deal to stay a further 12 months, could still be sold this summer. But given his peer's decision to leave, one would suspect Azpilicueta will be held onto tightly under new ownership.
The real frustration is longer-reaching; a broader problem that feels like it has finally caught up with Chelsea just as Roman Abramovich exits. The constant short-term mentality that for all of its extravagant benefits, has created an uneven and slightly jumbled squad compiled under vastly different coaching minds over the past decade. One that Tuchel has done extraordinary work to mould into one of Europe's best.
In the case of contracts, if you look beyond this season, the midfield is the next worry with both N'Golo Kante and Jorginho heading into the last year of their deals. You can make all the excuses about how changes in the dugout, upturns in form and coach preferences have altered things, but this is why a competent long-term transfer strategy is needed to mitigate against situations like this.
You are unlikely to see situations of this scale unfold at Manchester City or Liverpool. Two clubs the Blues are aiming to compete with, and both have more refined and clear transfer structures that have proved more effective.
Chelsea have permanently jumped from a six-week cycle to a six-week cycle. Last summer, when those of us brought up the concern of selling both Guehi and Tomori with senior defenders entering their final year, we were either told they were never good enough, or the club had no choice. Now you see a complete flip of that on social media. With criticism of Marina Granovskaia much louder as the reality of Chelsea's defensive issues is laid bare.
Granovskaia needs to be discussed with nuance. She hasn't become one of the game's most respected directors by chance, some of her work in the market has been brilliant. The £60million fee recouped for a failing Alvaro Morata and near £100million for Eden Hazard were vital in boosting a major spend in 2020. Negotiating a fee for Kai Havertz and Ben Chilwell down in the following summer looks like good business in key positions.
But her frailties in prioritising short-term profit and withholding depreciating assets have had their drawbacks. There is also a wider misconception of the Russian-Canadian's actual role in Chelsea's transfer business. Granovskaia is not a scout, she has never gone around identifying the next tricky winger in the Bundesliga. Criticisms on that front should more accurately fall at the feet of Scott McLachlan, the head of Chelsea's international scouting since the 2011/12 season.
But a director like Granovskaia should have foreseen the threat of this. And it fundamentally showcases what needs to change in the coming months as we move into a new era of ownership. The club needs to act more efficiently and ruthlessly over lessening contracts. In the case of Kante and Jorginho, you either decide to commit to them or sell them. As brutal as that may sound, the Blues cannot be left in this situation again.
The shining lights from Cobham of Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill provide two instant insurance policies in this situation. Also again symbolising why the gift of the academy continues to prove such a godsend in offering internal solutions on a yearly basis.
Losing Rudiger is huge. His character has been massive for Tuchel and we cannot judge how this failure to secure the German will impact the relationship between the coach and the club's hierarchy.
