Todd Boehly gets a close-up of just how much work is needed at Chelsea

Todd Boehly will have learned very quickly that you don't get many simple days at Chelsea.

The prospective new owner was in attendance at Stamford Bridge on Saturday for what should have been a day of celebration, with the American finally seeing an agreement to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich confirmed in the early hours of the morning.

While we're not yet in the Boehly era - completion of the takeover isn't expected for a few more weeks - it's safe to say that this new period in club history didn't exactly get off to the best start.

Boehly sat high in the stands and cheered on as Romelu Lukaku scored twice in quick succession to nudge Chelsea towards what looked set to be a pretty routine victory, but celebrating victories is only half of the rollercoaster ride that comes with being associated with the Blues.

The highs are routinely followed by bitterly disappointing lows, the latest of which came in the form of watching Conor Coady celebrating a 96th-minute equaliser on Saturday as Wolves snatched a 2-2 draw.

Concerns over the mentality of this Chelsea squad have been around for years. Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri didn't shy away from blasting the Blues' weak mentalities, and even Frank Lampard had to begrudgingly admit that his squad wasn't built right in between the ears.

Now under Thomas Tuchel, things haven't really changed for Chelsea. They're obviously still one of England's elite, but their ability to implode when facing any sort of adversity is a massive concern - and one which Boehly has now witnessed up close and personal.

While it's unrealistic to suggest that Boehly will pump millions and millions into addressing the flaws of this squad, the unfortunate reality is that a lot of money will have to be spent to right the wrongs of transfer windows gone by.

A new centre-back was on the shopping list even before Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen checked out, both mentally and physically, but now both men need replacing, and a third signing wouldn't go amiss either as Cesar Azpilicueta, who could leave for Barcelona anyway, continues to lose his battle against Father Time.

A lack of defensive steel, midfield control and attacking creativity has plagued this team for far too long now, and while Boehly will have already had his ideas about what needs addressing in the squad, the draw with Wolves will only have amplified his desire to get to work this summer.

Some players need to come in and plenty need to go, and it's now up to Boehly to decide just how drastic this mini-rebuild will be.

Welcome to Stamford Bridge, Mr Boehly. You better be ready for a bumpy ride.


Source : 90min