It promises to be a busy summer for Chelsea with the squad needing strengthening in a number of areas in order to close the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool next season. The Blues will be in the market for central defenders with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen both set to leave next month, but other areas of the squad also need to be addressed.
Central midfield will be a position of concern for Thomas Tuchel with N’Golo Kante and Jorginho both out of contract next summer. And with both players in their 30’s Chelsea face a real dilemma as to whether to cash in on their ageing stars in the upcoming transfer window, or offer them new deals.
Regardless, the club will be keen to acquire talented, up and coming midfielders to take the baton from the aforementioned duo. One name that has consistently been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge is Monaco’s Aurelien Tchouameni.
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The 22-year-old has established himself as one of the best young players in Europe over the past two seasons. His combative, aggressive style of play coupled with his proficiency at closing down opponents quickly make him an almost like-for-like replacement for Kante.
Tchouameni came through Bordeaux's academy and made 37 appearances for the club prior to arriving at The Stade Louis II for £16million in 2020. Last season he was named Ligue 1 young player of the year after playing an integral part in Monaco qualifying for the Champions League by virtue of finishing third.
His sensational performances have also seen him rewarded on the international stage with a first call-up to the France squad last August. Tchouameni has been linked with a host of European football’s elite clubs, and with just two years remaining on his contract Monaco could be tempted to cash in on their prized asset.
With that said, is there a place for Tchouameni in Tuchel's starting XI? Here, we take a look at how Chelsea could line-up next season with Monaco star in the side:
GK: Edouard Mendy
RCB: Cesar Azpilicueta
CB: Trevoh Chalobah
LCB: Malang Sarr
RWB: Reece James
CM: Aurelien Tchouameni
CM: Mateo Kovacic
LWB: Ben Chilwell
RW: Mason Mount
LW: Timo Werner
ST: Kai Havertz
