After three months of turmoil, the sale of Premier League giants Chelsea is expected to go through early this week as a consortium led by Todd Boehly has agreed the purchase at a staggering price of £4.25bn.
A final agreement was reached on Friday and the deal will bring to an end the reign of Roman Abramovich, which has stretched to almost two decades. The Russian businessman had his UK assets frozen in March, and the money from the sale will be held by a UK bank until the government has received assurances that the proceeds will go to support humanitarian causes in Ukraine.
Abramovich has wished the new prospective owners ‘the best success on and off the pitch’ and in his statement he said, ‘it has been an honour of a lifetime’ to own the Stamford Bridge club.
The club has said the deal could go through as early as Monday, to end the protracted period of anxiety for the Chelsea faithful from the moment Abramovich put the club up for sale on March 2nd.
And now head coach Thomas Tuchel can look forward to the next campaign. This saga has been the big Premier League 2022 newsand the fact that Chelsea missed out on a domestic cup double in penalty shootouts to Liverpool has almost been forgotten. But Tuchel will expect to open the trophy cabinet again next season and the Premier League 2022 betting odds will likely install the Blues as third-favourites for the 2022/23 title.
Ten Hag’s work begins
Manchester United fans have suffered a miserable decade since the departure of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson and no one knows that more than my SBOTOPcolleague, who is a Red Devil through and through and has lamented another disappointing campaign with a sixth-placed finish. Over the last nine seasons, United have won one FA Cup, one Carabao Cup and one Europa League and they have not come close to challenging for the Premier League title since the great man left.
Erik Ten Hag is the man tasked with bringing the good times back to Old Trafford and his work has already started, as interim head coach Ralf Rangnick has now left the club to concentrate on his new position as manager of Austria. After taking over in November, following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Rangnick steadied the ship but, ultimately, too many draws and a poor finish saw the Red Devils accumulate their lowest ever points total in the Premier League (58) with a zero goal difference.
Ten Hag has a rebuilding job to do, starting in midfield. Paul Pogba’s imminent departure from Old Trafford won’t prompt an outpouring of grief at the club, far from it. But the French star is a clear talent and the club will need to replace him. Ten Hag is making a push to sign Wolves midfield ace Ruben Neves and he also has his eye on Dutch compatriot Frenkie de Jong. The 25-year-old midfielder joined Barcelona in 2019 for a fee of around 75m Euros and the Blaugrana are asking for a similar amount to sell their man.
The United boss may believe that the arrival of De Jong will help Donny van de Beek settle at the club after a difficult campaign which saw him loaned out to strugglers Everton. But the deal is still in the balance and United face competition from Paris Saint-Germain.
Meanwhile, Ten Hag is still watching Benfica striker Darwin Nunez, but fears the price may be too high.
Forest are back in the big time
Nottingham Forest have joined Fulham and Bournemouth in the 2022/23 Premier League after winning the play-off final in dramatic fashion. The famous old club returns after two decades out of the limelight, last appearing in the top flight in 1999.
Back in September it seemed unlikely that Forest would challenge at the top end of the Championship as they struggled to climb out of the relegation zone. But head coach Steve Cooper was appointed when the club was bottom of the table and he masterminded a fantastic recovery and an ultimately successful season.
The play-off final was full of nerves, and the only goal of the game was scored by Huddersfield Town’s Levi Colwill, sadly for him in the wrong end and just before half-time. Forest saw the game out and the city celebrated.
The heady days of being European champions, back in 1979 and 1980, is a memory etched on the minds of older fans. But now they are back in the big time and where they believe they belong.
It’s time for the Forest faithful to dream again.
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