We’ve provided you triple shot of Chelsea transfer narratives in the past 24 hours. Part one which you can find below, focuses on the three players in the attack who could still leave before the end of the summer. Part two, a deeper dive into the Frenkie de Jong situation is linked here. Part three focuses on two more players that could be making the Stamford Bridge switch, in addition to De Jong
We’re into the home stretch of the summer transfer window, and Chelsea FC have a lot of work to do yet. They got off to a very late start this summer, and there is quite a bit of ground to make up. This will be especially so if they decide to go forward on a proposed total reworking of their final third. Timo Werner just left, and went back to RB Leipzig. Romelu Lukaku went back to Inter Milan early in the window.
Thomas Tuchel is prepared to rip up his attack and start again. He will happily listen to offers for Hakim Ziyech and does not trust Christian Pulisic. There are doubts over Callum Hudson?Odoi’s future.
– @JacobSteinberg https://t.co/rfrFgDkHzW pic.twitter.com/dem8qyURep
— Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport) August 10, 2022
And now Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, and Callum Hudson-Odoi are all on the trading block
That’s according to The Guardian, who state that Thomas Tuchel is wanting to “rip up his attack” and start all over again clean. It’s no secret that Tuchel’s Chelsea have been defensive-oriented first, and well, they’ve had to be, because they just don’t score goals too often.
At this point, all they have is Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz to rely on for scoring. And if they jettison all these guys, who are they going to buy to replace them?
The aforementioned triad of players, Ziyech, Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi, have all found themselves out of favor at some point during their Chelsea careers.
They all want more playing time, and who can blame them? So where do they go?
Well, Hudson-Odoi has been linked with a move to Borussia Dortmund, and talks are said to be escalating now. However, Crystal Palace could be an option, with the potential to see Wilfried Zaha going the other way. We’ve got 22 days left to sort it all out. And in terms of acquiring new forwards, who is still left, at this point, so late in the window.
As for Pulisic, Newcastle United is said to be “monitoring his situation,” and they’ve also asked Stamford Bridge what attacking players they might have available to take out on loan, potentially, later on this summer window.
Of course, there are conflicting reports about Capt. America, with The Athletic claiming he “may not be made available.” Hard to say, but we learned earlier on this summer that Pulisic drew the interest of Juventus as well. As for Ziyech, well, he’s been made extremely frustrated, and he’s looking for an out. AC Milan has been linked, and that could be a good option for him.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.