Chelsea's hectic £213m transfer window and new manager - according to bold prediction

There are some major decisions lying in wait for the Chelsea hierarchy as they look to move on from Mauricio Pochettino’s surprise departure.

Just over a week has passed since the Blues confirmed they had parted company with the former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain manager - and they do appear to be closing in on their preferred target after being granted permission to speak just Enzo Maresca just weeks after he led Leicester City to the Championship title.

No matter who takes charge at Stamford Bridge when the new Premier League season gets underway in August, the new manager will hope to have made some impact on the squad he inherited from Pochettino. We here at 3AddedMinutes wanted to get a guide of how things could play out over the coming months, so we fired up Football Manager 2024 to see what the world’s most popular management simulation predicts will go down at SW6 this summer.

Firstly, and most importantly, it was former Blues boss Thomas Tuchel who was named as new Chelsea manager and he quickly set about putting his own stamp on the squad in a surprising manner.

Goalkeepers

There are new faces in the Blues goalkeeping ranks ahead of the new season - but there is a familiar one returning as Kepa Arrizabalaga is back from his loan spell with La Liga giants and he will compete with Dorde Petrovic and Robert Sanchez for the number one spot under Tuchel. Just to clear up some other goalkeeping related news, Jamie Cumming and Eddie Beach have both departed on loan to Watford and MK Dons respectively.

Tuchel’s goalkeeping options: Robert Sanchez, Dorde Petrovic, Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Defenders

There is a new arrival in defence but it’s a slightly surprising one as former Liverpool defender Sebastian Coates returns to the Premier League. The Blues agreed a £10m deal for the Sporting CP centre-back and he immediately replaced Thiago Silva after he left Stamford Bridge. In terms of outgoings, Tuchel made some serious money from the sale of four defenders. Firstly, Lewis Hall’s loan move to Newcastle was converted into a £30m permanent switch and another academy product departed as Trevoh Chalobah joined La Liga club Atletico Madrid in a £13m deal. Marc Cucurella’s underwhelming stint at Stamford Bridge ended after the Blues agreed a £30m deal with PSG as the Spaniard moves to the Parc des Princes and Malang Sarr sealed a £4m switch to Monaco.

Tuchel’s defensive options: Axel Dasasi, Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Sebastian Coates, Levi Colwill, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Ian Maatsen, Alfie Gilchrist.

Midfielders

It was a case of one in and one out in midfield for Tuchel and he made a £31m profit in the process. The returning boss landed Luxembourg international Leandro Barreiro on a free transfer following his departure from Bundesliga side Mainz and that allowed him to authorise the departure of academy graduate Conor Gallagher. After receiving interest from several clubs from the Premier League and across Europe, the England international opted to remain in London by making a £31m switch to rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Tuchel’s midfield options: Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, Leandro Barreiro, Moises Caicedo, Carney Chukwuemeka.

Forwards

Again, Tuchel showed his more prudent side as he limited himself to just one new forward addition and that came in the form of RB Leipzig’s Ivory Coast international Karim Konate as he completed a £43m move to Stamford Bridge. His arrival allowed the German to part company with several attacking players as Romelu Lukaku’s second spell at Chelsea finally came to an end with a £22m move to Inter. Armando Broja, David Datro Fofana and Mason Burstow all secured permanent moves as they joined Everton, Sunderland and Oxford United respectively, bringing in around £14m in the process. Brazilian youngster Deivid Washington returned to South America as he completed an £18m move to Corinthians.

Tuchel’s forward options: Raheem Sterling, Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, Karim Konate.