Chelsea Transfer News Roundup: Blues confirm agreement to buy club; Thomas Tuchel reveals Antonio Rudiger exit affecting players, and more - 7 May 2022
Chelsea stumbled to a 2-2 Premier League draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The Blues remain third in the standings after 35 games, four points ahead of fourth-placed Arsenal, who have a game in hand.
Meanwhile, the London giants have confirmed an agreement to buy the club. Elsewhere, Blues manager Thomas Tuchel has said that his team are affected by the impending exit of Antonio Rudiger.
It ends all square.
#CheWol https://t.co/gfdRPnvtqZ
On that note, here's a look at the key Chelsea transfer stories as on 7th May 2022:
Chelsea confirm agreement to buy club
Chelsea have confirmed that they have agreed new ownership terms with a consortium led by Todd Boehly. The move is expected to bring stability to the Blues, who are severely impacted by the sanctions imposed on Roman Abramovich by the UK government following Russia's Ukraine invasion.
Club Statement.
The London giants have now confirmed that Boehly, along with Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjoerg Wyss, will take over ownership of the club.
The entire process is expected to be completed by the end of May. £2.5 billion will be used to purchase the shares of the club, with the proceedings going to charitable causes. In addition, £1.75 billion will be invested in the club.
Thomas Tuchel reveals Antonio Rudiger exit affecting players
Thomas Tuchel believes Antonio Rudiger's impending exit and the uncertainties surrounding the club's ownership is affecting the Chelsea players. The London giants struggled against Wolves on Saturday to pile the pressure on Tuchel.
Speaking before the weekend’s game, the Blues manager admitted that Rudiger's exit would be a big blow.
"It surely affects the team, but I cannot tell you to which degree. The longer the situation goes (on), now it has a huge affect because Toni leaves us in the middle the process where we are sanctioned and could not even fight, could not do another offer, could not be in negotiations."
He continued:
"It clearly has an affect, and it makes not so much sense to deny it; we lose now one of our key players. This decision has an effect on the dressing room because Toni is not isolating when he's here at Cobham and does not talk to anyone, so he is a huge part; he is a leader, and, of course, the situation is like that."
Tuchel concluded:
"The situation regarding the future of every individual player is not that clear because there are no talks for nobody at the moment. We try to minimise the influence; I think it's important to accept it and not use it as an excuse, so if there's a certain degree of distraction, a certain degree of uncertainty, okay we accept it, but there is still another 100 per cent to reach, and this is still our level."
Stan Collymore disappointed with Romelu Lukaku
Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore has slammed Romelu Lukaku for his decision to return to Stamford Bridge. The Belgian rejoined Chelsea from Inter Milan last summer, but he has struggled so far.
In his column for Caught Offside, Collymore expressed his disappointment at Lukaku's recent form, saying:
"This season has been one to forget for Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku, and it’s been really disappointing because he is actually one of my favourite players. If I’m honest, I was surprised he went back there because I remember him getting hammered when he missed a penalty in a Super Cup final. He got a lot of stick from Chelsea fans and left after that, but sometimes you can be offered so much money that it skews your thought process."
Collymore added that Lukaku was 'blindsided by money', adding:
"He went to Inter Milan from United, and it looked like he’d finally found a home. If I could say this to any player, I would say that there is always a balance between top-level money and you knowing where you need to be in order to get the best out of yourself."
He continued:
"Lukaku was enjoying life at Inter Milan and working incredibly well under Antonio Conte – so just stay. Despite him coming in and getting off to a decent start, it is still a terrible fit, and we’re seeing this now. Lukaku is a lesson to any player who is happy at a club, competing for trophies, working towards legendary status and then gets blindsided by money."
Lukaku has scored 14 times across competitions, ending a ten-game scoreless run in the league with a brace against Wolves.