So, Frank Lampard is gone and the Thomas Tuchel era at Chelsea is just days away from getting underway.

There’s no doubt the German will be inheriting a squad full of quality players. However, it’s a squad languishing in ninth place and already out of any title race.

But how can Tuchel transform the fortunes of the Blues?

He’s going to want to stamp his authority on this side but, following a £200+ million shopping spree in the summer, Roman Abramovich may be a little reluctant to open the purse strings once again this month.

Therefore, Tuchel will have to work with what he’s got for now.

So, we’ve decided to help him out by ranking this current Chelsea squad into categories using Tiermaker. It’ll help him decipher which players to ‘get rid of ASAP’ and which players to build his side around.

Let’s take a look:

Get rid ASAP

• Kepa Arrizabalaga
• Marcos Alonso

There was once a time when these two would be the first two names on the teamsheet. But not any more.

It was ironic that Lampard’s last game in charge was marked by a Kepa howler against Luton. There’s no coming back for him. As for Alonso, he’s now 30 and isn’t anywhere near Ben Chilwell’s level.

Not good enough

• Andreas Christensen
• Cesar Azpilicueta

One of Lampard’s biggest problems was that he had too many players in certain positions and this is a prime example. Players were reportedly unhappy at the way they were treated when they weren’t playing and Tuchel will have to sort that issue.

He’s best off getting rid of the two mentioned players because they’re too good - and get paid too well - to be continually left out of squads.

Christensen clearly wasn’t fancied by Lampard, while Azpiliceuta is now 31 and it’s a case of ‘out with the old, in with the new.’

Bench

• Tammy Abraham
• Hakim Ziyech
• Willy Caballero
• Kurt Zouma
• Callum Hudson-Odoi
• Billy Gilmour
• Mateo Kovacic
• Jorginho
• Emerson
• Fikayo Tomori

This was Lampard’s issue. Almost all of these players will have been expecting to start for Chelsea this season and it simply wasn’t possible to keep them all happy.

Competition is healthy and these players should be knocking on Tuchel’s door asking to be in the starting XI each week.

Ziyech made a good start of his Chelsea career but has tailed off, while Abraham is pushing Olivier Giroud for a starting berth. Zouma has played much of the campaign but we think Tuchel may prefer a different option.

Starter

• N’Golo Kante
• Thiago Silva
• Antonio Rudiger
• Mason Mount
• Ben Chilwell
• Christian Pulisic
• Edouard Mendy
• Reece James
• Oliver Giroud

Many of the above players pick themselves, in truth. However, we’ve stuck Rudiger in there - who has only featured in four Premier League games under Lampard this season. Tuchel reportedly tried to sign the German at PSG and it sounds like he has plans for him.

Meanwhile, we think he can get the best out of Pulisic who he managed at Borussia Dortmund.

Star man

• Timo Werner
• Kai Havertz

We know what you’re thinking…

Werner and Havertz are on the verge of being dubbed flops following their £48m and £72m moves to Chelsea in the summer. But Chelsea wanted a German-speaking manager to get the most out of these two superstars. And they are superstars. There’s no doubt they’re world-class talents on their day and, under Tuchel, they will prove that. Trust us on this one.

Final rankings

So, we’ve picked Tuchel’s starting XI and bench for him.

By our calculations, his line-up should be: Mendy, Chilwell, Silva, Rudiger, James, Kante, Mount, Havertz. Pulisic, Werner and Giroud. That will leave a plethora of talent on the bench including the likes of Ziyech, Abraham, Hudson-Odoi, Kovacic and Jorginho.

Just give us the Chelsea job.