Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has admitted that his squad could use more players as the end of the transfer window nears. The German coach suggested he will be happy regardless of the outcome, however, and will find solutions with the players he has if required.
The Blues are this summer's biggest spenders, having already signed Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella and Carney Chukwuemeka to add to the first team ranks, and are believed to have come to a £70million agreement for Wesley Fofana. The Leicester City defender is expected to sign before the end of the week, but Tuchel would reveal nothing following the win over the Foxes.
The Frenchman is the most prominent name connected with joining Chelsea, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Anthony Gordon and Wilfried Zaha are among the names linked with joining the club before the deadline. Chelsea have seen Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku depart from the forward line, with Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi potential late-leavers. Incoming moves may be required to facilitate those.
READ MORE: Thomas Tuchel admits brutal reality of Chelsea transfer window amid Hudson-Odoi and Ziyech talks
Tuchel said: "Right now, I think we could need some more players in some positions, but it's very close to the end of the transfer window, and when September 1 comes, I will be a happy coach no matter what happens. I will try to find solutions and not think about what might have happened or what could be.
"Everything that matters is reality, and at the moment [against Leicester], what mattered was finding a way to win. What will matter at Southampton is the same, find a way to win, step up individually and push the team from my side. This is what we will do no matter if players will come or not."
Chelsea's midfield is an area that is set for transition, despite their vast numbers. N'Golo Kante and Jorginho's contracts are set to expire come the end of 2022/23, though the club do have options this term in Mateo Kovacic, Conor Gallagher, Chukwuemeka, with Ethan Ampadu and Billy Gilmour still around Cobham.
However, a combination of suspension and injury leaves Tuchel shorter than he may have expected.
He said: "It is, and it's normally the area I would love to have a headache about who plays and who is on the bench. This is normally the area where I thought we would have five players that could all play for us and have Carney [Chukwuemeka] on top as an option as a young player.
"The headache before the season was whether we had too many players there, but it comes to the fifth game, and maybe we only have two left with experience in this position and Kova from the bench because he is not ready to play full matches at Premier League level as he only had a week after training after his injury.
"It's a strange situation and a situation we don't like. I don't know why we are in this situation, actually. It's like this, and we will have something to think about [over the team selection], or maybe not because it's so obvious who we have left."
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