Kalidou Koulibaly will not be enough on his own to fix the issues currently at Chelsea.
This was evidenced with the 4-0 loss against Arsenal in pre-season. Despite only featuring in the second half, the Senegalese defender was on the pitch when Albert Sambi-Lokonga scored unmarked at the back post. With Cesar Azpilicueta and the back four formation largely blamed for the four goals conceded, Chelsea's new £34million signing was the only member to come out of the contest against their London rivals largely unscathed and this was reflected by Thomas Tuchel's assessment of his second new summer recruit.
"He was the best player on the pitch for us," he said in his post-match press conference on Saturday. Jules Kounde was odds-on to join Koulibaly in forming the new foundation of Tuchel's defensive set-up to compensate for the already gone Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen but just like the pair, the Frenchman is set to end up in La Liga as Barcelona and Sevilla negotiate the final details.
READ MORE: Chelsea transfer targets make perfect starting XI combo and could calm Thomas Tuchel frustration
Now, attention has turned towards other defensive targets with Presnel Kimpembe and most recently Denzel Dumfries, both valued at around £34million by CIES Football Observatory, now hot on the agenda for Chelsea who are aiming for at least four more recruits to come in before the September deadline.
"The latest in what has to be the most tedious transfer sagas in recent memory is that Kounde has decided to join Barcelona, who are sorting themselves out in order to get an acceptable bid into Sevilla," football.london's Chelsea correspondent Adam Newson updated on the defensive front in his most recent Q&A session.
"Chelsea have started to move on to different targets and things may move swiftly on Inter Milan's Denzel Dumfries, although he is a wing-back rather than a centre-back and it begs the question as to whether Reece James will be used more regularly in the back three this season."
With so many questions still left to answer in relation to who will be joining the west Londoners this summer alongside Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling, football.london takes a look at the best back five Tuchel could have at his disposal once the transfer window slams shut for business once more.
The plan seemingly is for Dumfries (£34m) to come into the right-wing-back slot and this would inadvertently push Reece James further back into the right-centre-back slot, to replace the outgoing Cesar Azpilicueta.
Whilst the Three Lions international has played at right-centre-back before, his attacking attributes are lost as a result which could worry Tuchel if he opts for this plan.
Koulibaly (£33m) would make up the heart of the back three/five and would rotate with Thiago Silva with both players in their 30's. With another defender wanting to be signed on top of Dumfries, Kimpembe (£60m) looks most likely to join at the moment. But if he weren't to sign, someone like Josko Gvardiol, Pau Torres or Milan Skriniar would slot into that left-centre-back role.
Meanwhile, Ben Chilwell would be a guaranteed starter at left-wing-back with his backup yet to be identified with Marcos Alonso hoping for a move to Barcelona. Maybe someone like Levi Colwill, Trevor Chalobah or someone like Lewis Hall could fit in if another wing-back is not signed.
Chelsea's potential best back five next season: Denzel Dumfries, Reece James, Kalidou Koulibaly, Presnel Kimpembe, Ben Chilwell.
Substitute options - Levi Colwill, Lewis Hall, Trevor Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso if both were to stay.
Chelsea fans - what do you make of this proposed back five and would you be happy to see Denzel Dumfries displace Reece James at right-wing-back? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below
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