The last time that Chelsea was ruthless and concise in the transfer window was not in 2020. In fact it was in 2014 under Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese manager knew the personnel he needed to make his squad complete and did not waste any time in the transfer window.
Historically, Chelsea are not particularly known for leaving their transfers so late. They'd usually have one or two deals in place before the transfer window opens and nothing would stand in their way. If they were to go after a player, they would usually succeed. Recently, we've seen the Blues hampered by sanctions but it doesn't dismiss the late transfers made last summer and year before when Frank Lampard was in charge. The failed signing of Jules Kounde last season set the tone for the season where Chelsea would eventually lose Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger.
Now that the Blues have their transfer targets in sight and have had time to reach out with deals, can we see a window as successful as 2014?
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The 2014/15 summer window saw Cesc Fabregas, Diego Costa, Fillipe Luis, Thibaut Courtois and the return of Didier Drogba to Chelsea. All transfers were necessary and and cost effective. Each transfer cost less than £35million and the Blues went on to win the Premier League. Probably one of the more effective transfer windows that Chelsea have had in a long time.
That could be doing the 2020/21 transfer window a disservice. The transfers of Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz were integral to Chelsea's Champions League win, but the first half of the season proved to be a difficult watch on behalf of each new player.
Thomas Tuchel could take note of the 2014/15 transfer window. Mourinho had one too many attackers and had to make some brutal decisions. Samuel Eto'o, Demba Ba, Fernando Torres, Andre Schurrle, Romelu Lukaku and of course Mohamed Salah were all let go to make room for Costa. Six attackers all more than good enough to have made a name for themselves in Chelsea blue, but there was just not enough room for them all to have a role specific to Mourinho's football. And that's the route Tuchel may need to take.
In the 2013/14 season, Mourinho was forced to mix and match with his attacking options. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. It was hard trialling a number of different goal scorers as it was virtually impossible to figure out which combination was the best fit for the squad. It's the exact same situation that Tuchel is currently facing.
Unfortunately, there's always going to be the question of whether the Blues repeat another Salah situation - letting a young player go only for them to become World Class in the future. That's a risk that will need to be taken. Tuchel cannot keep each forward in the team happy and if he tries to please everybody, he will not be able to fulfil his personal project with his team. Mourinho had a plan, knew the team he wanted and went on to win the Premier League.
With Ziyech, Lukaku, Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Havertz and Mason Mount all vying for places in the team, sacrifices will need to be made.
Who do you think Thomas Tuchel will need to get rid of this summer in order to compete next season? Let me know in the comments.
