Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel will have breathed a sigh of relief after Todd Boehly’s consortium finally completed their takeover of the club. With ownership issues now a thing of the past the Blues can focus on recruiting the kind of quality that will enable them to close the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool.
The priority for Tuchel will be in defence with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen both departing the club this summer. However, central midfield will also be a cause for concern with N’Golo Kante and Jorginho both out of contract next June.
With both players also in their 30s, the Blues face a difficult decision as to whether or not to sell or offer new contracts to their ageing duo. Nonetheless the west London outfit will need to recruit long-term replacements and as such they have been linked with a plethora of midfielders.
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Jude Bellingham is rumoured to be of interest to Chelsea, the Borussia Dortmund star is one of the most sought-after players in Europe after two highly impressive seasons with the German giants. The 18-year-old can best be described as a box-to-box midfielder, capable of both assisting and scoring goals.
Given his age Bellingham could be a stalwart of the Blues’ midfield for over a decade. He would be the natural successor to Kante, but would also offer more of a goal threat than the Frenchman. And he has already delivered his verdict on a transfer this summer.
The former Birmingham City star is under contract at Signal Iduna Park until the summer of 2025 and according to the Athletic it would take a bid in excess of £80million to convince Dortmund to sell. It remains to be seen if the Blues would be prepared to spend that kind of money to buy Bellingham in the upcoming transfer window. He set tongues wagging this week when he was pictured on holiday with Chelsea youngster Billy Gilmour.
However, if a deal to bring the England star to Stamford Bridge could be reached he wouldn’t be able to wear the only number he’s worn at club level so far in his fledgling career. Hakim Ziyech is the current incumbent of the No.22 shirt, however, the Moroccan winger has been linked with a move away from the club after a lacklustre two seasons.
Bellingham’s former club Birmingham retired the number after he left for Dortmund in 2020 and the club’s head of development Mike Dodds explained the reasoning behind his choice to wear the number. "I actually remember his first session as a seven-year-old, he told talkSPORT 2.
"I thought, 'Yeah he's alright, not too bad'. He didn't stand out. It probably wasn't until he got to 13 where you started to go, 'This boy is very good.'
"He would have been about 13 or 14 and like most boys that age, they want to be a No 10. And I remember, we sat down with him and we said, 'we think you're doing yourself a disservice, we think you can do all of it.
"So we came up with, 'we think you can be a 22'. His eyes lit up and we knew had hooked him from then on in!
"We said we thought he could be a holding midfielder, or a four. We thought he could be a box-to-box, which is an eight. And we thought he could be a scorer and a creator, so a 10.
"And from the age of 13 onwards he has held on to that all the way through and you can see that in his game. He made his debut at Birmingham City and he said, 'I want my squad number to be number 22' and said the same thing at Dortmund."
Bellingham has also worn the No.26 shirt for England, which is currently available at Chelsea. The jersey will always be synonymous with club legend John Terry who wore it throughout his Blues career.
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