Chelsea are set for another demanding summer as they look to secure some forward progress after a massively disappointing 2022/23. Mauricio Pochettino is set to take charge of a team in desperate need of reinvigoration and searching for a new identity.
Frank Lampard, the Blues' fourth boss of the season, highlighted in his final press conference as caretaker manager that the club had a number of situations that needed to be resolved. Perhaps most notably, allowing players to leave.
He said: "The squad has been to deep and that's the biggest challenge I've found day-to-day. Coming in and trying to work with big numbers and players that are maybe a little bit, for whatever reason, disillusioned, for right or wrong, that they're not playing or they might be leaving. Those situations can be sorted out now and they have to be."
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There is little wonder Chelsea are in such a position having signed £600 million worth of players and left their squad bloated, with some new additions being unable to be named in the Champions League squad for the knockout stages. The Blues were unable to facilitate Hakim Ziyech's January departure, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has barely featured since Thomas Tuchel's sacking. It's safe to say the current situation is reliant on player sales.
Pochettino will want to shape the side in his own image too however, and while that will include deciding on the players he would like to stay, it would be natural he would like to sign players too. The Blues already have priorities to sign a goalkeeper, a midfielder and striker with the Manuel Ugarte perhaps the most prominent name in the spotlight at the moment.
Chelsea's lowly 12th-placed finish will not have helped on that account either. Not only will no Champions League football ensure it is more difficult to draw prospective players, but there is a financial implication too.
The west London side's Premier League finish is set to directly bring the club in £19.8m, well short of the £39.6m that may have awaited last season's finish in third. Each position is said to be worth £2.2m.
When taking in broadcast and other incomes related to the Premier League, the Mirror report the Blues could see as much as £145.8m brought into Stamford Bridge. Albeit a figure almost £20m short of a top four spot and a £70m loss due to the riches missed out on in the Champions League as a result.
Nevertheless, Chelsea's income will have to be used smartly as they decide which players to sell and where a cut-price may be taken to ensure that the squad is shaped correctly for Pochettino to get the best out of the group. The drop in income will only serve to remind the Blues how wise they must be in their dealings move forward as they target greater riches next term.
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