5 urgent issues Chelsea's new owners will have to deal with

Chelsea have been in the process of finding a new owner since the sanctions imposed on Roman Abramovich by the UK government. With Todd Boehly reportedly (as per the Telegraph) being named the preferred bidder for the Blues by Raine group, fans are hopeful that the takeover process can be completed by the end of May. Timing is extremely crucial, as the club have not been able to function properly due to the crippling sanctions imposed upon them.

New ownership will have a number of crucial decisions to make as soon as they join the club. This includes transfers, contract negotiations, and revamping the board structure. The Blues have not challenged for the Premier League in the last five years, and in recent weeks have shifted to a top four fight.

#5 Keeping Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea

Norwich City v Chelsea - Premier League

If there is a reason fans have been able to maintain some form of calm during this period, it is due to main man Thomas Tuchel.

There have been some questions raised about his tactics, but that is to be expected when it has been such an extraordinary season for the club. They will have played an incredible number of games this season, 63 out of a possible 66 matches.

Add to that the COVID cases in the first half of the season, the sanctions imposed on the club since March, Romelu Lukaku's infamous interview and injury crisis. He has also suffered issues in his personal life. Chelsea have won the Club World Cup, lost the League Cup 11-10 on penalties, are currently third in the Premier League and are in the FA Cup final. Thomas Tuchel deserves all the praise in the world.

Chelsea need to follow Manchester City and Liverpool by backing their manager. Tuchel has shown that he can rival these managers and it will be imperative for the new owners to ensure he has no qualms about staying the boss. A new long-term contract will not go amiss.

#4 Player transfers during the summer transfer window

Antonio Rudiger has decided to leave Chelsea at the end of his contract

Tuchel has got some major shopping to do in the summer. The Blues are confirmed to lose Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen this summer. Club captain Cesar Azpilicueta is also rumored to be leaving for Barcelona, as per the Daily Mail, all for free.

Going into the summer, Tuchel will have at his disposal a 38-year-old Thiago Silva, Trevor Chalobah (who was a CDM until last season) and Malang Sarr as the centre-back options. In hindsight, Chelsea selling Marc Guehi and Fikayo Tomori last season looked like very bad decisions. But no one could have predicted crippling sanctions.

Chelsea will have to sign at least two top quality centre-backs to the squad. This will not come cheap and the new owners will need to invest heavily. Clubs will be aware of Chelsea's desperation and negotiations will be tough. 19-year-old Levi Colwill, who is having a fantastic season in the Championship with Huddersfield Town, is a possible option.

#3 Reducing the wage bill

Chelsea have an extremely bloated squad and a huge wage bill that needs to come down significantly. They will need to sell or loan a number of their fringe players.

The Blues have the second highest wage bill in the Premier League, behind Manchester United. So far, Roman Abramovich's riches have allowed them to ignore such issues. Without him and the fact that Chelsea earn much less commercially than the legacy clubs of Europe, this model is unsustainable.

It is difficult for the club to earn a lot of money from the exploits of such bench players. Exits of certain high-value players seem likely to fund their transfer purse, possibly from their expensive attacking line-up. Ideally, it looks like either Lukaku or Timo Werner will be sold over the summer and will be a major source of income to boost their summer transfer budget.

#2 Sort out player contract issues

With Mason Mount and Reece James, Chelsea have two of the finest talents in England at the moment. Both are graduates of their academy and are Blues to the core. Their current salary is amongst the lowest in the squad and it is imperative that they are offered better deals, tying them down long term at the club.

The club face a similar contract situation with Jorginho and N'Golo Kante as they did with Rudiger and Christensen. Both will enter the final year of their contracts and Tuchel had publicly asked for their futures to be resolved by the club in the recent past before the sanctions were implemented.

Chelsea face a potentially bitter-sweet midfield connundrum. They will have to find an optimized transition from their old guards of Kante and Jorginho to their upcoming talents like Conor Gallagher and Billy Gilmour. The latter, touted as a generational talent, will also enter his final year of contract this summer. He will want a clarity about his future role at the club before signing a new contract.

#1 Identifying the decision makers

Petr Cech has nicely fit into his role as technical director of Chelsea

The Blues have always had a clear structure when it comes to decision-making in football. Earlier, it was Michael Emenalo followed by Petr Cech as technical director, with Marina Granovskaia taking the final call on matters. Thomas Tuchel has publicly lauded the way he can just focus on footballing matters under Cech and Granovskaia.

A majorly overlooked aspect is the manager's relationship with the board. Both Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have a fantastic relationship with their respective boards and chief executives. Under the new ownership, the question arises as to who will be in charge of the footballing operations. Will Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech remain in charge?

Granovskaia, in particular, has been one of Abrahamovich's most trusted lieutenants. She has earned herself a reputation as being one of the finest operators in football with her negotiating tactics and honesty. Petr Cech is widely lauded across the footballing world and amongst the club's fans and was instrumental in signing Edouard Mendy.