Chelsea are really looking to kick on with their summer transfer business following the signing of Raheem Sterling. The Blues confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that Sterling had signed a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge – becoming the first senior signing of the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital era.
Supporters of the west London club were beginning to become impatient with the lack of activity behind the scenes, but with Sterling now confirmed, Chelsea continue to progress on the transfer front. Kalidou Koulibaly is expected to be announced as the Blues' newest signing very soon after reaching an agreement of a £33.8million fee with Napoli, and personal terms have also been agreed with the defender.
Nathan Ake remains a big target for Thomas Tuchel, with talks continuing to progress with Manchester City over the Netherlands defender, football.london understands. Ake and Koulibaly are expected to be signed at this rate, but the pursuit of new defenders will not stop there.
READ MORE: Presnel Kimpembe's transfer preference revealed as Thomas Tuchel has Chelsea back-three plan
Following the double departure of centre-back duo Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, Chelsea are now in the market for three new central defenders. Talks with Juventus regarding the signing of Matthijs de Ligt appear to have reached a standstill, while there's not been much speculation surrounding Jules Kounde – who verbally agreed on personal terms with Chelsea earlier in the summer.
Chelsea are now working on striking a deal with Paris Saint-Germain for their defender Presnel Kimpembe. football.london understands Chelsea have now entered talks with PSG over a move for the 26-year-old, who has under two years remaining on his contract with the champions of France.
Kimpembe came through the academy ranks in Paris – being a one-club man up until this point. The Frenchman has made 235 appearances for PSG in all competitions since making his professional debut for the club back in October 2014.
He played 30 times in PSG's title-winning Ligue 1 campaign in 2021/22, captaining the side on five occasions. Kimpembe is clearly an integral part of the squad at PSG, but there is a thought that the French club are open to letting him leave this summer.
The France international has previous with Tuchel when the now Chelsea head coach was the manager of PSG. Tuchel spent one-and-a-half seasons in charge of the French club before being dismissed from his role in December 2020.
Kimpembe played under Tuchel a total of 51 times in all competitions during that time, establishing himself as a regular under the German tactician. It's clear Tuchel was a fan of Kimpembe back then, and his admiration has not gone away.
In June 2020, when Kimpembe was recovering from an injury problem, Tuchel highlighted what sort of character the France defender was. He said: "I feel like he used that injury between the two seasons to take a giant leap forward.
"He didn't have a holiday, he worked all summer in order to recover and then in his rehab. He was incredibly fit for the first match against Real [Madrid], and since this match, he has maintained that level. He is very strong, he is very aggressive, and he is very reliable."
At the time, young PSG defender Timothee Pembele also had some very complimentary words to say about Kimpembe. He explained: "Presnel is a role model and a very nice person.
"Every time that a youngster makes the step up to the first team, he welcomes them like they were his little brother. He really is a top guy."
Everything that's been said about Kimpembe and the sort of person he is point towards the type of character and personality Chelsea are looking to sign this summer. In May of this year, Tuchel was asked about the summer transfer window and what he wanted for Chelsea.
He explained: "We have clear ideas for the profiles and characteristics of these players. It is not like you put a name on the list, and then you get a player.
"You have to convince the player, you have to speak to other clubs and convince yourself this is the player, so there is normally a lot of work, and it will be the same to be competitive next season, while, like everybody else, tries to close the gap to us, while the top two teams are what they are. A benchmark of consistency."
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