Chelsea are beginning to accelerate their business in the hope that the squad is ready before the new Premier League campaign kicks off, with manager Thomas Tuchel hoping that his side can mount a title challenge and compete with both Manchester City and Liverpool.
The arrival of Raheem Sterling will add much-needed quality, explosiveness and experience within the forward line, something the club desperately needed as improvements in both goals and chance creation is a must going into next season. The priority, however, in this window was arguably to bolster the backline with top additions. Both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen refused to commit their long-term futures at the club and instead decided to walk away on a free, meaning that strengthening the heart of the defence was imperative.
The Blues officially confirmed the signing of Kalidou Koulibaly yesterday, for a £33.8million fee, who will come to Stamford Bridge with a plethora of experience under his belt having spent eight years with Napoli. He alone though is not enough, with Tuchel now planning on adding a left-footed option. Manchester City's Nathan Ake was widely reported to be moving back to west London, but it is now likely that he will play a part in Pep Guardiola's squad for next season.
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This has now led Chelsea to pursue PSG centre-half Presnel Kimpembe, with Fabrizio Romano stating that 'direct talks' are now occurring between the two clubs, although Chelsea currently are £10million short of the valuation the French club have placed on the 26-year-old. Should the deal happen, it would certainly open up the potential to utilise an attractive backline. It's very well documented that Tuchel likes to structure the current side in a 3-4-3 shape, consisting of a back three, wing backs, a double pivot and a front three.
Reece James and Ben Chilwell are the undisputed stars in the wide areas, so the only question marks with regards to the backline arise over who starts in the three. Thiago Silva is a crucial cog to the current side and will likely continue his role at the centre. Interestingly, both Koulibaly and Kimpembe prefer to operate on the left but given the fact that the former is naturally right-footed, there shouldn't be much issue with the Senegal International being deployed on the right.
Both Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill are exciting prospects but one wouldn't expect either to start ahead of the aforementioned trio. Certainly, the options Tuchel would have at his disposal would be exciting. A healthy blend of youth, experience and huge potential.
Chelsea are very much a possession-based outfit under the German's stewardship. With Koulibaly and potentially Kimpembe, the technical level of the side would increase drastically, which will massively aid the team's overall ability to play out from the back and build through the thirds efficiently.
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