Although club football has now finished for yet another season, Chelsea fans can look forward to a crucial part of the sport’s calendar; the summer transfer window.
The Blues will soon have a chance to dip into the market and reinforce their squad ahead of the next campaign, with Thomas Tuchel’s side hoping to close the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool.
However they will be losing one of their key options in their current backline, with Antonio Rudiger joining Real Madrid upon the expiration of his contract after five years at Stamford Bridge.
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With the German having such a big influence on the club’s success in the last year and a half, Chelsea will be keen to make a statement and sign a replacement who is as good, if not better than him in order to compete on various fronts again next term.
Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, who recently completed their takeover of the club, are set to give boss Thomas Tuchel the lead on transfers during the summer.
The club’s new owners want to adopt a strategy similar to the one used at City and Liverpool, where respective managers Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are given the chance to ‘drive decisions’ when it comes to new signings.
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One name who has already been heavily linked with a move to the club, and has been the subject of speculation for some time now, is Jules Kounde.
The 23-year-old centre-back was widely believed to be joining Chelsea last summer upon the agreement of personal terms, but his current club Sevilla were able to keep him in La Liga for the season just gone.
He has featured 133 times for the club in all competitions scoring nine goals and assisting another three, playing a crucial part in their backline at such a young age.
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Kounde has also made nine appearances for the French national team, making him a reliable asset for both club and country.
Matthijs De Ligt of Juventus is another option Chelsea could look towards this summer as they search for a replacement for Rudiger.
The Dutchman made the move from Ajax to the Serie A giants in 2019, where has since played 117 games at centre-back.
While he may be consistently featuring for one of Europe’s most decorated clubs, the 22-year-old recently criticised the ‘sporting project’ at the Turin-based side.
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He said: "There are ongoing conversations between me and Juventus. Right now I am focused on how I perform on the pitch, once the right moment arrives I will decide to extend or to look further.
"I look at the sporting project. Ending fourth for two years in a row is not good enough, Juventus knows this too. So being Juventus, we have to make steps. I’m a Juventus player so I’m focused on that."
Chelsea could therefore look to pounce on such unrest and sign him in the summer, with De Ligt keeping 16 clean sheets in 42 appearances last season.
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One final target could be Milan Skriniar of Inter Milan, a player who could be involved in a swap deal with the Blues this summer.
Ben Jacobs has reported that Inter are open to letting the Slovakian centre-back join Chelsea if they receive Romelu Lukaku in return.
The Belgian striker signed for Chelsea last summer for a club record fee, but he could be on his way out of the English capital after just one season back at the club.
He had a poor season in front of goal with just 15 goals from 44 appearances, and it is believed that Lukaku wants to return to Inter.
Such a move could therefore see Skriniar sign for Tuchel’s side, having made 215 appearances in all competitions for the San Siro side since he joined in 2017.
Having finished third in the Premier League last season, Chelsea will be keen to mount a title challenge from August.
While they have been successful in the cup competitions, the Blues haven’t won the league for five consecutive seasons.
One of their strongest assets is their defence and if they are to win the Premier League this must remain to be the case, and the aforementioned targets are more than capable of ensuring this should they sign this summer.
Topics: Chelsea, Chelsea Transfer News & Rumours, Jules Kounde, Matthijs De Ligt, Milan Skriniar
Robert Calcutt