May 7th 2022 was the day things became different at Chelsea FC but also stayed the same. There's been a great deal of upheaval for the Blues in recent months in the aftermath of Roman Abramovich being sanctioned, perhaps with more to come after it was announced that Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjorg Wyss had agreed a deal to acquire the club.
Thomas Tuchel and the club as a whole have had to work under a number of conditions to satisfy the 'special licence' awarded to allow Chelsea to continue operate despite the identity of their owner. The situation sent a takeover process into overdrive, with little time to work with given the licence provided is set to expire by the end of May.
As things stand, Chelsea are unable to engage in new agreements including player contracts and transfer talks, precluding them from resolving a number of squad issues and preparing for the summer transfer window. The club have seen Antonio Rudiger decide to leave during this period (though it looked on the cards for some time), while a number of players including N'Golo Kante and Jorginho will soon be in the final years of their contract.
