Chelsea could still have multiple changes still to their backline before the September deadline despite the Kalidou Koulibaly signing.
In a summer that has seen Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger already leave for La Liga and Marcos Alonso soon to follow the pair to the same league, manager Thomas Tuchel has had to put the large majority of the transfer budget to revamping the defence.
Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella's additions have gone some way to fixing these issues caused by the exodus of the aforementioned trio but the age profile of this current Blues defence has Tuchel slightly worried, meaning Leicester's Wesley Fofana is much needed, even if it will cost a world-record fee.
"I will not comment. No matter how good your question may be, I will not comment," the manager responded when asked directly about the Leicester defender in his Tottenham pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. "We could use one more central defender; if you look at the numbers and that we play with a back three. The profile of the guys in the three is a little bit different, I admit.
"We can play with Azpi (Cesar Azpilicueta), who is more a full-back than a central defender. (Marc) Cucurella, it's possible too [to play on the side of a back three]. Both of them cannot play as the middle central defender. So we could use one more central defender. Let's see what happens."
football.london understands that Chelsea's third bid which will be submitted very soon will eclipse the £80million Man United paid the Foxes for Harry Maguire when all the add-ons are taken into account.
Initially, Brendan Rodgers was adamant that the 21-year-old was not for sale but his stance has softened in recent times. Coupled with this, the news that the Blues had agreed personal terms with the Les Bleus hopeful, as per Footmercato, and that the East Midlanders were already looking at replacements signals what is to come.
With Fofana potentially signing, the last area of debate for Chelsea in the remaining three weeks of the transfer window is whether or not they sign right-wing-back cover for Reece James.
The likes of Denzel Dumfries, Kyle Walker-Peters and Josip Juranovic have been linked but so far no official bids have been put in. Maybe Cesar Azpilicueta signing a new deal has pushed this down the priority list but don't rule out a late swoop towards the end of August and before the September deadline.
With all this taken into account, football.london takes a look at Tuchel's best back five once new owner Todd Boehly completes his first summer window in charge which is forecasted at a £300m outlay.
Obviously, a back four could also be an option for a few games this season with the plethora of options available in this situation but Tuchel's lack of trust in a system which was exposed badly in the Florida Cup against Arsenal will most likely lead him to stick to his tried and tested back five system.
Kalidou Koulibaly and Thiago Silva will be starting most weeks with Fofana alongside them in what could look to be a formidable backline.
Reece James is a guaranteed starter and whether or not cover is signed is irrelevant when Cesar Azpilicueta is already there to cover. The no noise around Dumfries suggests Inter will keep hold of their full-back.
Left-back is an interesting one. Marc Cucurella or Ben Chilwell? With the England star still trying to find his way back to his best form, the Spaniard is primed to step in and put in high-quality performances. Once the Blues' number 21 is fresh and recharged, the competition between the pair is going to be electric.
Substitute options: Cesar Azpilicueta, Trevoh Chalobah, Emerson Palmieri, Ben Chilwell.
Chelsea fans - Would you say that above is the best defence with Wesley Fofana in it? Would you sign Reece James cover and if so, who? And the big one, Marc Cucurella or Ben Chilwell? Leave all your thoughts to these three questions in the comments section below!
