Leaving things late in the transfer market isn't often a good idea. Panic buys are made, frantic decisions crop up, damaging purchases can hurt a club for years to come. It is said that deadline day moves are normally destined to fail. Chelsea might have to buck this trend.
At the rate that Todd Boehly is going, Chelsea could have quite a lot left to sort out come September 1. Their current negotiations hinge on lots of moving parts, they're complicated and convoluted, there's lots of money being talked about, and that's in the context of a club having already spent £160million.
If Boehly is to give Thomas Tuchel everything he desires by the end of the window then Chelsea will likely have to at least double that number. If - and it's a massive if - they were to secure Frenkie de Jong and Wesley Fofana for the current prices talked of, £70million for De Jong and at least £80million for Fofana, that is £150million extra, and with a new forward or two still desired, Chelsea could very easily overtake anything that Roman Abramovich spent.
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It isn't something to get used to for Chelsea fans. This won't be how the Boehly/Clearlake ownership always function. When a director of football is appointed, Chelsea will turn to analysis and statistical led functions in a structure designed to spot smart buys, in the hopes of signing players like Marc Cucurella before he joins Brighton, and then add that to an environment that fosters development.
Before that time though, there was a squad overhaul to see to and it wouldn't be a true transfer window of late without the mention of a certain West Ham midfielder.
Perhaps nobody would fit the structure of a rebuild better than Declan Rice. The 23-year-old has everything that Tuchel wants and in the exact position he wants it. Rice brings experience with 167 Premier League appearances, leadership as the new Hammers captain and ball playing ability. He is possibly the best example of what Tuchel wants right now. Quality, experience, perfected individual characteristics - and still young.
It's always felt a long way off, especially with Marina Granovskaia stubborn in Chelsea's attempts to resign a former youth player for north of £60million - that will now have risen with West Ham stating publicly that they would be searching for a fee above £100million to begin conversations. But there is a chance that Boehly could pull off the ultimate late window buy this summer.
By taking the transfer deep Chelsea have allowed themselves to not only pursue other targets, mainly defenders and attackers as the centre of midfield looked the least critical area, even with some long-term problems on the horizon, but also to not appear desperate. There is no clear need for a new midfielder though De Jong is desired. Chelsea could do their business in that area with contract renewals or spend money next summer on a more condensed squad issue, unlike this season's major surgery.
So, as De Jong stalls, it has pushed a small domino in place that could leave Chelsea and Rice nose-to-nose once more. It's a long process with several unknowns, but is possible.
Manchester United also had interest in De Jong but that looks to have fallen through due to Barcelona's financial complications. Though they are still hopeful having agreed a deal with the Spanish club, Erik ten Hag's side are set to sign Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot.
The Old Lady could now do with their own replacement for the Frenchman, if a £20million move to Manchester was to go through. This is because of Paul Pogba's current injury, which has ruled him out of the start of the season as he opted against surgery with one eye on the World Cup. Juve have held interest in Jorginho from previous seasons and could take advantage of a specific set of circumstances with his future this summer.
Although the 30-year-old is still a key player for Tuchel, he is out of contract next summer and there isn't the sense that he will be signing a new one. That would lend Chelsea to selling him if an offer came this summer. But that has always seemed unlikely as only a select group of teams would interest him and vice-versa. Luckily, Juventus are one of those teams.
So, if Juventus were to sign Jorginho, and football.london understands that Chelsea would be open to him leaving for cash this window as opposed to on a free next summer, then there would be room for a new midfielder to come in at Stamford Bridge.
The current best bet is clearly De Jong. He is the most advanced and Chelsea know the price they would need to prise him away from Barcelona. But, given the Dutchman wants to stay and there are surely more twists to come in this protracted saga, Chelsea's backup could be Rice. And it wouldn't be a panic buy either.
The England international is massively liked by Tuchel and could realistically co-exist with De Jong if the two were to end up at Chelsea together, although even Boehly's budget couldn't afford them both this summer. Rice is also thought to be open to a move back to his boyhood club, though he would never push it. It would cost Chelsea a lot, especially late in the window and especially with the London rivalry.
However, if there is a sniff that pulling off a move for Rice could come to fruition then Boehly would be able to make a clear marker with the England star. He was a player that brought up the bad memories of previous Chelsea failures too much under Abramovich to be stomached in a return move.
But Boehly doesn't have these ties. Hence why the American is so freely able to rid himself of relationships with players he hasn't purchased. After this summer that will become a harder attitude to have, so Chelsea should make the most of it now, both with outgoings and incomings.
Ultimately a lot would still have to happen for Rice to even get close to a transfer this summer, but it's not unfeasible that Chelsea take it deep into the window and act accordingly to the movements around them. They have the perfect, almost accessible transfer target that would be as far from deadline week panic as there is, and it would all be because of a Manchester United transfer.
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