Thomas Tuchel could have £61million added to his transfer budget even before Chelsea's takeover is finalised.
Todd Boehly's acquisition of the west London club is almost complete, with UK government approving the sale after the American's consortium passed the Premier League's fit and proper owners test. But while the Blues will have to wait until Roman Abramovich has officially handed over the keys to Stamford Bridge before splashing the cash, Tuchel and co can at least start plotting moves.
That is thanks to a fresh share issue seeing them generate an extra £61million, an amount which transfer chief Marina Granovskia will hope to make use of during the summer window. Chelsea have been heavily linked with a swoop for Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde, while France international teammates Aurelien Tchouameni and Christopher Nkunku are also said to be targets.
Somewhat of a rebuild will be taking place in the Blues' back line over the coming months, with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen joining Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively. Meanwhile, the futures of club captain Cesar Azpilicueta and fellow long-serving Spaniard Marcos Alonso remain uncertain.
Kounde has long been touted as a solution for Tuchel's side, with the German tactician's preferred three-man defence suiting the 23-year-old, who is reportedly valued at £69million in Seville. However, negotiating a deal for Kounde became more difficult this week after the LaLiga club lost their other first-choice centre-back and captain, Diego Carlos, to Aston Villa.
Monaco midfielder Tchouameni and RB Leipzig forward Nkunku will also cost fees in a similar range, with Chelsea no longer able to benefit from Russian oligarch Abramovich's seemingly bottomless pit of funds.
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That leaves Tuchel unsure over how much his recruitment team will have to spend this summer, having been quizzed on Boehly's impending takeover in the final few days of their rollercoaster season. "You ask many times if we have a delay in approaching players and making plans, of course, a huge delay," Tuchel admitted.
"We are affected by it, players are going out. We are rebuilding, not improving the squad. We are rebuilding. This is always challenging, but we are up for the challenge.
"I don't know where we are from day one. What I can promise is that I will be here – if I can promise that – I will be here with full energy and positive energy no matter what. We will still work for Chelsea, and I refuse to think of negative scenarios. We will be competitive, on which level we will see."
