Chelsea have been heavily linked with a move for Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele and Real Madrid defender Eder Militao in a potential summer transfer swoop.
Dembele, 24, is out-of-contract with the Blaugrana in the summer, with The Athletic reporting that discussions were held between his representatives and the Blues over a move at the end of the season.
The Frenchman could make the switch for a potential reunion with head coach Thomas Tuchel, who he played under at Borussia Dortmund before making the switch to the Nou Camp, and is valued at £27million by transfermarkt.
As for Militao, the Brazilian could be an option to shore up the defence, with up to three senior defenders leaving Stamford Bridge on a free transfer in the summer.
Chelsea could lose a trio of Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta as free agents come the end of the season, with 37-year-old Thiago Silva extending his current deal until the end of next season.
Tuchel has been linked with a number of young defenders to solve this, including Jules Kounde, Matthijs de Ligt and now £54million-rated Militao.
football.london takes a look at what a full strength Chelsea side could look like, including Militao and Dembele, as well as some key contract extensions in the squad.
Eder Militao
The Brazilian excels at the back in being both an aggressor and a sweeper, roles usually played by Rudiger and Silva in the Chelsea team respectively.
Militao could pick to do either when necessary for the side, choosing when to press a player in a similar manner to Rudiger, or back off to sweep up general play like Silva.
The 23-year-old has had experience playing at both centre-back and right-back in a back four, which could give him the mix of skills to play on the right of a back three, needing the basic defensive skills to cover both central areas and the right flank when a wing-back pushes up the pitch.
The defender could struggle aerially compared to the rest of his skillset, with his stature not being that of a towering centre-back.
He can leap well, though it would be best to pair him with a more dominating presence in the air, such as Rudiger.
For these reasons, it may be best to place him on the right of a back three with Silva and Rudiger, though the Blues have to avoid being targeted aerially on the two Brazilians.
Ousmane Dembele
Dembele’s career at Barcelona has sputtered and stalled since his big money move, with injuries denying a clean run of games for the winger at the Nou Camp.
However, when the Frenchman is fit, there is no denying the talent that is there.
The 24-year-old excels mainly in one-on-one situations that allow him to drive at opponents on the ball.
Given the way Chelsea play, with two inside forwards and wing-backs that push up high, the Blues often create overloads in areas that would allow for Dembele to isolate defenders to take them on in individual duels.
Then add the fact that he’s ambipedal, meaning he is capable of using both feet well and able to play on both the left and right side.
It allows for Tuchel to create uncertainty for the opposition, with the ability to change things up, but also allows for in-game rotations to occur.
The main concern would be making sure he stays injury free, which is something that the Chelsea squad on the whole has struggled with through a gruelling winter fixture list.
So here’s a look at how the Blues could line-up next season.
Whether it will be enough to go on and win the title next season is another question, but it may take them that step closer to their rivals.
