How Might Todd Boehly’s Chelsea Look at the End of His First Transfer Window?

RCB: Jules Kounde (Trevoh Chalobah)

The young Frenchman is primed to be the first major signing of the Boehly-era. Aggressive, quick, and with developing on-ball ability, Kounde is expected to slot into the right center-back spot previously occupied by Azpilicueta/Christensen.

He has the dynamism to play almost as a right-back thus helping cover for Reece James when necessary and has the attributes and potential to be a good fit.

Trevoh Chalobah has played right center-back often in the season gone by and despite some up and down performances, he’s shown enough to be a very able backup in this position – even potentially push Kounde for the spot.

CCB: Thiago Silva (any of the other CBs that fit the profile/Ethan Ampadu)

Thiago Silva is ageless. The fine wine cliche? It was written for Thiago Silva. An absolute rock at the center of that defense. His distribution, recovery pace, and footballing instincts are second to none in that entire defense, at the ripe age of 37.

Given the sheer number of defensive incoming and outgoings, I’m expecting any of the other 4 center-backs at the club that best fit this defensive role to step in when needed. Could potentially be Ethan Ampadu, too.

LCB: Kalidou Koulibaly (Levi Colwill)

Ok, bear with me here.  It wouldn’t be the wisest decision for a club looking to turn into a self-sustaining machine to go out and spend money on a 30-year-old with likely minimal resale value in a few years. That said, a deal for Kalidou Koulibaly makes a lot of sense in this situation.

It’s being reported that he’s unlikely to re-sign with Napoli and hence they might be looking for close to 25 million pounds to move him on with just a year left on his deal. At that price, Chelsea gets a high-quality defender, an experienced stalwart, and a big personality that could go a long way in plugging on and off the pitch gaps created by losing Rudiger, Christensen, and potentially Azpilicueta in the same window.

It also allows the extremely-talented but young Levi Colwill to ease into this role over the next 12-18 months. Naturally left-footed, there’s not much doubt that he’ll be holding that position for a long time after.