Chelsea agreement creates five tricky transfer questions for Thomas Tuchel
Signing Ousmane Dembele on a free transfer might prove one of the deals of this summer but it would impact members of Thomas Tuchel’s squad.
Ousmane Dembele has quickly become a trending name amongst Chelsea fans online speculating over potential transfers.
There still remains scepticism over his recent injury record and whether a transfer including a lofty wage would only add another player who persistently finds themselves on the treatment table. Dembele missed over 100 games for Barcelona since his £135million move in August 2017 from Borussia Dortmund.
Though with his impressive numbers under Xavi since January, natural talent and his previous relationship with Thomas Tuchel, the pros seem to outweigh the cons when looking at what Chelsea’s current attack has lacked in recent years. And the hope that at 25, Dembele’s best years are still ahead of him.
Though his potential arrival would certainly have an impact on the rest of Chelsea’s current attacking cast. For onlookers, there will be little sympathy given the lack of productivity and the feeling the area has greatly underperformed expectations despite over £300million being invested in it since 2019.
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A new player should add competition, excitement and new spice to an attack that has struggled to consistently catch fire under Tuchel since his appointment in January 2021. Even with the Champions League triumph, you would be hard-pressed to find many who would hold this group up as adding the required value.
Some of that can be targeted at Tuchel’s system and how it has appeared to limit Chelsea’s ability to go after opponents or allow the freedom needed for certain players to excel. Should Dembele arrive, several members of the current squad would be impacted.
The first is Hakim Ziyech. Signed under Frank Lampard in 2020, Ziyech was reportedly a target championed by Lampard and one who quickly became a dominant player on the right of Chelsea’s attack in the early months of the 2020/21 season. Most went through the Moroccan and relied on his creativity cutting onto his wand of a left-foot.
Injuries and a change of coach halted that progression and even with some high points under Tuchel, there is a nagging feeling that Ziyech simply does not fit the style of attacker needed for the German. The most likely outcome feels like a departure given his age and likely suitors.
The next is Callum Hudson-Odoi, a player who has flirted with a significant breakthrough only to be halted by injury issues or a dip in performance losing him a starting spot.
