Todd Boehly's £4.25 billion Chelsea takeover can't be signed off soon enough for head coach Thomas Tuchel to begin his urgent facelift of the Premier League club's squad.
The Blues will remain under a transfer embargo until the Government ratifies LA Dodgers part-owner Boehly's consortium and officially brings the curtain down on oligarch Roman Abramovich's 19-year reign at Stamford Bridge.
Since Abramovich was sanctioned by Boris Johnson, over his links to Russian warmonger Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Chelsea have been in transfer limbo. The uncertainty has led to an exodus with out-of-contract Antonio Rudiger agreeing terms for a free transfer to Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen lining up a move to Barcelona, while Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso also seemingly heading for the exit.
When Boehly gets the green light, Tuchel will need at least two new centre-backs, cover for wing-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell and alternatives for £97.5 million disappointment Romelu Lukaku up top. And Chelsea are also bracing themselves for a roadblock in their long-time pursuit of England midfielder Declan Rice.
Here a round of the the latest Chelsea transfer stories.
Declan Rice alternative
Although Chelsea have N'Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic to screen their defence, Chelsea are weighing up a move for Marseille midfielder Boubacar Kamara, one of the most coveted midfield linchpins in Europe. Unlike West Ham's £150 million-rated skipper Rice and prime target Aurelien Tchouameni, rated at upwards of £68m by Monaco, Kamara would be available on a free transfer after refusing to sign a new contract with the French club.
According to the Daily Mail, Aston Villa are pushing hard to clinch a deal for 22-year-old Kamara, but Atletico Madrid are understood to have tabled a £3.8m-a-year offer, so Tuchel would need the takeover to go through quickly to gazump his rivals. To date, Chelsea have made no offers for Rice - and even if Boehly spends big, with £1.75 billion committed to refurbishing the stadium and squad at Stamford Bridge, they are not likely to meet the Hammers' asking price.
Romelu Lukaku swap deal
Now that Manchester City's capture of Erling Haaland has effectively ended their pursuit of Harry Kane, beIN Sports presenter Richard Keys believes the England captain would be a good fit for Chelsea. Keys claims it's , who has started only four of the last 18 games at the Bridge, and his two goals against Wolves last weekend were the Belgian's first in the Premier League in 2022.
And he suggests a swap deal with Tottenham, reuniting Lukaku with his former Serie A title-winning Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte, might be on the cards.
Armando Broja interests rivals
Chelsea striker Armando Broja has been a hit on loan at Southampton, despite 11 games without a goal for the Saints. And according to HITC.com, the 20-year-old Albanian striker is on Arsenal's radar as Mikel Arteta rebuilds his front line following the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona. The last of Broja's 12 goals at St Mary's came in the FA Cup against West Ham.
