TODD
I think this is the biggest switch around at Chelsea I've experienced as a fan. The Abramovich takeover happened when I was about 2 so I've only ever known Roman as the head of the club. Seeing him give up the reins and for Boehly to come in and make as big as an impact as he has already, that's both scary and exciting for me.
I could write a whole thing about Boehly and my thoughts on him, but I think I need to see him in action a bit more before I form strong opinions. I've heard a lot say that American Premier League owners tend to be problematic and care more about the revenue and business than the dieals of the club itself.
Boehly has hit the ground running, in my opinion. He was present at some of our last league games last season, has already held positive talks with Tuchel and Hayes, and seems to have instantly struck positive relationships with the staff and players. He was the favourite all throughout the interview stages and was the first party to register interest, almost immediately after the word first went out.
If he can keep up this enthusiasm I'll be chuffed. I know it was difficult for Roman to get to London to see games but I'd love to see Boehly and his staff consistently throughout the season.
I've watched interviews and read pieces about Boehly and I'm impressed by his knowledge and his passion for the game.
MARINA + BRUCE
Bruce Buck is gone, Marina is gone, and at time of writing Petr Cech is debating his future at the club. Boehly is also taking up the position of interim football director until a replacement is found.
Marina feels like a big loss, but I felt in recent years there were some disappointing decisions. Lukaku will most likely top the list of worst ever signings, and we've had some questionable ones that have just fallen under the radar before being eventually moved on.
Of course now that Buck has left, Boehly is at the moment, owner, chairman and director of football. That's pretty deep investment and involvement, and even after the DoF role is filled, he'll still have a lot of work to do in and around the club.
Its a massive switch but I think it gives us a new fresh perspective, a new direction on how the club is run and operates on a day to day basis. Tuchel has been told that he can have a closer involvement on transfers which means that he can really start bedding in and creating his vision for a Chelsea team. This is setting up to be a very busy summer, for big transfers, new staff, new ideas and more.
I'm also happy that Boehly is willing to stick with Tuchel and I hope he stays for the forseeable future. It makes the most sense, I suppose, but it also helps that Tuchel has had great success at the club in just over a year in charge, he mixes extraordinary managerial and tactical skill with charisma and lightheartedness.
SIGNINGS
The hope, then, is that with changes in staff, a new direction will be implemented, and adding Tuchel's input to transfer decisions will mean that we can start to make smarter signings, players that will fit in with Tuchel's tactics rather than just panic buying or spending too much money on mediocre players.
The priorities are back-up options at wing-back, replacements for several of our departing centre backs, as well as a few attacking players.
The thing is, at the moment it's all pure speculation and rumors. We've been linked with a whole plethora of players, with some reporting we're very close. I'm guessing that we're sorting out the whole staff change before we go into the market.
In terms of defenders, there's any of De Ligt, Kounde, Skrinar, or Koulibaly among the most likely, and we're also looking at Jonathan Clauss from Lens as understudy to Reece James.
Midfield isn't really a priority - we've got some of the worlds best in Kante, Kovacic and Jorginho, as well as several promising youth players like Gilmour, Ampadu and Gallagher. Rice has been on our radar since forever, and would be a great addition, but we'll see.
People seem to forget that we were very much challenging for the title early last season before injury troubles and other factors led to a drop in form. With the right additions I think we can return to comfortably challenge for the top spots once again.
OVERALL
It's going to be a mad summer, and it's already started in some capacity. Signings are dry at the moment but expect us to start making some big moves over the next week, especially with a new director of football coming into the club.
I'm in love with this Boehly and Tuchel combo and I really hope it can start getting results sooner rather than later.