Chelsea need to build a squad around Thomas Tuchel

Chelsea started the season well but the dreaded winter period played its yearly role in disrupting momentum. Over the last two months the club have played 11 games in the Premier League, winning four, drawing five and losing two. The results have seen Manchester City pull clear and the Blues out of the title race.

The club have been brilliant in cup competitions and Thomas Tuchel has maximized that success by reaching every final since he was appointed. However, the club have now failed to challenge over a 38-game league season for four seasons. COVID and injuries have played a major part and that has shown a glaring lack of quality in some areas.

The problem is that Chelsea have a squad built by six different managers. Players that were bought for different systems. Managers have to come in and work with what they are given. When they fail they are sacked. Tuchel has done brilliantly with what he has been given but for Chelsea it is finally time to build a squad around one manager.

Players bought for different Chelsea managers

Chelsea v Sunderland - Premier League

Chelsea have spent £912.87 million since the 2016-17 season. In the same time frame, the clubs closest rivals Manchester City and Liverpool have spent £963.37, and £518.43 million respectively. As far as the amount goes the club are right up there with City. The Cityzens and Liverpool are at another level in terms of consistency and there is a reason for that.

Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have been at their clubs for five seasons now. The squads have been built around them. Every player that comes in fills a role and is bought to fit the manager's style of play. City have more financial resources than Liverpool and so have been able to build a bigger and better squad. A group of 15-16 players have been a constant in the squad though.

At Chelsea, Cesar Azpilicueta was bought under Roberto Di Matteo in 2012. Since then the club have had five managers, none lasting more than two and a half years. The problem is that it’s easy to sack managers but the signings made under them remain. These players tend to be on massive wages and contracts and become passengers in the squad if they do not fit the successor.

This does not mean that there haven’t been quality signings, but they are players that were bought for different systems. Hakim Ziyech, for example, came to the club during Lampard's time as manager. The right winger slotted right in and would play in a 4-3-3 formation. Tuchel came in and decided to play a 3-4-3 style. In this formation the front three play closer together and there is no space for a winger to play in.

However, against Tottenham Hotspur Tuchel played a 4-1-4-1 and Ziyech played in his natural position. The Moroccan was named man of the match, scoring a brilliant left-footed strike.

Full-backs are crucial to Tuchel's system. Fast players who have excellent deliveries into the box and can press up and down the flanks of the pitch. They essentially function as wingers when Chelsea have possession. Ben Chilwell is out for the season and Reece James has also been injured. Their direct replacements are Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso.

These two players lack the pace that is needed in the position. The lack of pace gives opposition teams the ability to pin them back. It also curbs many of their attacking plays. With no adequate replacement, Tuchel has been forced to tinker with the formation. There is a similar lack of quality in midfield. Chelsea, though, have all the tools at hand to replicate their rivals and do better.

Trimming the fat and spending wisely

Manchester City v Crystal Palace - Premier League

Chelsea need to sell the bloat. The board prides themselves in selling for a profit but that pride has led to many passengers like Emerson Palmieri, Baba Rahman, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Danny Drinkwater and Michy Batshuayi. All these players are out on loan because the club didn’t want to suffer a loss. Marcos Alonso and Ross Barkley are two players that have stuck around since Antonio Conte.

Chelsea have been looking at potential left backs to come in for Ben Chilwell but with the three mentioned above and Chilwell it would be foolish to add a fifth. Selling this bloat is key in creating space on the wage bill for players to be brought in. Once this is done the club can target specific areas for improvement. Unlike City, Chelsea don’t have to throw money in to find all the solutions.

Chelsea’s academy at Cobham is one of the best in the world. Frank Lampard was the first manager to use it and bring in several of the youth players that were on loan. Mason Mount and Reece James in particular have thrived while Trevoh Chalobah has come in under Tuchel. At the moment there are several players out on loan that can come in and fill positions in this squad.

Levi Colwill, Conor Gallagher, Armando Broja and Billy Gilmour are all players that can play a major part going forward. This then allows the board to spend money on an Aurélian Tchouaméni, or Declan Rice. Spend money on a left back that is stylistically similar to Ben Chilwell.

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Chelsea have the spending power of Manchester City but also an academy that churns out top talent. For the club, it is all about striking the right balance and basing their incomings off of one consistent focal point.

The focal point is Thomas Tuchel. With the class and poise with which Tuchel handles himself in interviews and the way the team has played under him, Tuchel seems like a perfect fit. There needs to be an open dialog between the manager and the board as there was for the club-record transfer of Romelu Lukaku. There is no need to fit square pegs in round holes.

Sustained success over a 38-game season is a result of consistency. With Guardiola and Klopp in the league, the only way Chelsea can do that is if they stick with Tuchel. Build a squad of players he can trust and that fit his style of play. The club are now in a position where they can join City and Liverpool but they will have to be proactive and not reactive.