Former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel clashed with Todd Boehly over the need to sign new midfielders before he was brutally sacked, it has been claimed.
Plenty has changed at Stamford Bridge since Coehly and Clearlake Capital completed their purchase of the club back in May; including in the dugout, where Tuchel has been replaced by former Brighton chief Graham Potter.
There have also been significant changes to Chelsea's playing squad since Tuchel's shock departure back in September. The Londoners were the Premier League's biggest spenders in the January transfer window after splashing out over £320million on new signings - including World Cup-winning midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who moved to the Blues from Benfica for a British-record £105m transfer fee.
Boehly and co-owner Behdad Eghbali have now spent in excess of £500m on new players since purchasing Chelsea. It is believed that the pair quickly identified Fernandez as a priority signing in the wake of his dazzling performances for Argentina at the World Cup.
But the Chelsea hierarchy had their sights on overhauling Chelsea's engine room long before they eventually acquired Fernandez's services in the final hours of deadline day - even after Tuchel had insisted that the club already had an abundance of quality midfield options.
According to The Times, Boehly consulted Tuchel over his transfer plans after succeeding Roman Abramovich at the helm in west London. He quickly identified midfield as an area to improve, but Tuchel was reluctant to target another midfielder with the likes of Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and N'Golo Kante already at the club. The return of the highly-rated Conor Gallagher, who had just excelled on a season-long loan at Crystal Palace, further boosted Chelsea's options.
Rather than signing a new midfielder, Tuchel desired defensive reinforcements after losing the services of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
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Boehly granted the German's wish by bringing in Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana; however, unbeknown to Tuchel, Boehly also snapped up Denis Zakaria in a last-gasp loan deal. Tuchel reportedly didn't even recognise the midfielder at training.
Just one week later, Tuchel was left "totally shocked" after he was sacked in a brutal 10-minute phone call the morning after Chelsea's shock 1-0 defeat against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.
Tuchel, who had led Chelsea to Champions League glory during the early months of his Stamford Bridge tenure, was promptly replaced by Potter, who was lured to Stamford Bridge by the new Blues hierarchy.
Things haven't quite gone to plan for Potter: Chelsea are currently 10th in the Premier League after winning just two of their last 12 league games.
But the highly-rated coach is set to be given the time to stamp his mark on a new-look team which can now call upon Britain's most expensive player.
