The impact of Roman Abramovich’s departure is still being felt at Chelsea as the new regime starts to pick up the pieces of what two decades of the Russian oligarch’s rule has left behind.
It was always predicted that the departure of Abramovich would leave a huge financial mess to clear up - instead, the main victim has been time as Todd Boehly’s consortium are having to pick up the pace after the club drifted through the final months of the season. It means their transfer policy is in danger of becoming confused, with the temptation to use shortcuts as the new hierarchy look to keep Chelsea competitive in the present as well as safeguarding their future.
With senior players such as Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Romelu Lukaku either out of the door or looking to be on the their way, there is a lot of work to be done just to stay still. But early whispers from the transfer market around the continent is that many of Chelsea’s early targets are young players for the future that might be expected to offer cover for those established stars.
