Reece James’ desire to pen a new Chelsea contract is understandable but the Blues defender must give the ownership time to settle in, with other priorities taking the spotlight in the early stages.
The Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital consortium have had a quiet start to life at Stamford Bridge following their May 30 takeover of the club.
With less than two weeks gone, the Blues bosses are yet to make any real changes at the club or give away too much regarding their plans for the future.
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Marina Granovskaia and Bruce Buck remain at the club, allowing for some stability as the Roman Abramovich era came to an end.
The Blues are yet to dip into the transfer market, with players currently on international duty around the world.
Furthermore, there has been no update on Chelsea’s sponsorship situation as Three UK requested their logos be removed from the Blues’ jerseys last season, which was not possible.
With so much to do this summer, James may have to wait to see his contract extended despite his frustration.
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Recent reports have stated that there is still confidence that James will renew his deal despite interest from elsewhere as Real Madrid and Manchester City eye a potential transfer swoop.
However, the defender may need to remain patient as Chelsea will be prioritising adding to their existing squad this summer.
With Antonio Rudiger's departure confirmed earlier this month, the Blues announced their released list, which includes fellow defender Andreas Christensen.
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Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta are also being heavily linked with moves away as Barcelona could be a destination for the pair, leaving Chelsea with just James who is a natural right wing-back if the Blues captain departs.
This should speed up the process of renewing the defender’s deal, which is set to expire in 2024.
However, there are more pressing issues as the defensive rebuild is to be prioritised under the Boehly-Clearlake ownership.
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Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has been promised control of transfers by Todd Boehly and is set to be given £200 million in order to undergo his rebuild this summer, with incomings and outgoing being the priority for the head coach, whilst sorting out the sponsorship situation and structure off-the-field will most likely be the priority for the new owners.
Jules Kounde, Matthijs de Ligt, Presnel Kimpembe, Kalidou Koulibaly, Milan Skriniar and Josko Gvardiol are all names that have done the rounds in the press in regards to potential defensive incomings, whilst Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner have all been discussed as outgoings.
Furthermore, Romelu Lukaku looks increasingly like returning to Inter Milan in the summer after a miserable spell at Chelsea.
The Blues have to negotiate a deal to suit them, taking much of the time and attention away from extending existing deals as Inter cannot afford to pay near the fee which Chelsea handed them last summer, a record £97.5 million.
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Once Chelsea begin their squad overhaul this summer, they can look to tie down the existing players such as Mason Mount and James, but until Tuchel makes the moves he wants for his squad, in terms of both incomings and outgoings, the Chelsea youngsters must remain patient.
Topics: Chelsea, Football, Reece James, Thomas Tuchel, Todd Boehly, Premier League
Nick Emms