To say that Chelsea is in the midst of considerable turmoil would be a massive understatement after the Blues crashed out of the quarterfinals of the Champions League at the hands of Spanish juggernaut Real Madrid.
With their elimination from Europe’s premier club competition, Chelsea has now failed on four fronts across the 2022-23 campaign despite new owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali arriving in west London and splashing ~£600m across two transfer windows in a bid to push the club forward.
That plan has spectacularly failed for the ownership duo, who are now on the hunt for their third manager in less than a year after parting ways with both Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, while their plan to put faith in the returning Frank Lampard in an interim role has been equally questioned after the club icon has failed to win a single match in charge since coming back to the Bridge.
Despite Lampard’s temporary appointment, the Blues are said to be hard at work when it comes to finding the next full-time manager, with highly-touted German tactician Julian Nagelsmann one of the headline names on the club’s shortlist.
But former Borussia Dortmund star midfielder and current club advisor Matthias Sammer has a word of caution for the 35-year-old. When speaking on TV last night, the 1996 Ballon d’Or winner made his opinion clear on the poison chalice that is Chelsea under Boehly leadership.
Amazon TV expert & Dortmund advisor Matthias Sammer had advice on TV last night for Julian Nagelsmann re Chelsea. “With this construct, I would clearly advise him. There is disquiet through management by someone who wants to have an influence but who apparently has no idea.“
— Derek Rae (@RaeComm) April 19, 2023
That sentiment was recently echoed by another former Blues icon in Didier Drogba, who frustratingly stated that he no longer recognizes his club when speaking with Canal+.
It is not the same club anymore. I don’t recognize my club. There is a new owner and a new vision.
A dressing room with 30 players is difficult to manage for the coach, whoever he is.
We try to compare with what was done during the Abramovich era, where there were many acquisitions of players, but the choices were very intelligent.
Bringing in players like Petr Cech, Andriy Shevchenko, Hernan Crespo, Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, and I go on. It was to win titles and they are players who already have some experience. Here the strategy is different, they bet on young players.
— Didier Drogba
Given Nagelsmann’s penchant for wanting total control over the direction of his team, his reported clashes with Bayern’s hierarchy when it comes to squad building and player acquisitions is a near guarantee to rear its ugly head at Chelsea given the club’s plans to put faith in a recruitment team they have already taken steps to assemble.
Moreover, the sales that must take place in the summer will amount to a serious culling of the senior setup as the club must recoup at least £200m to avoid FFP sanctions, thus making it an immense task for any manager to come into, especially one that likes to do things his way.
Though time will tell if Nagelsmann will take the position despite a possible vacancy at the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer, the next step of his own career path must be the right one, and Chelsea may not be it.
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