Chelsea are confident of sealing the signing of Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly and are continuing to push forward with a deal for Manchester City centre-back Nathan Ake, football.london understands.
A defensive overhaul is required at Chelsea this summer following the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen to Real Madrid, and Thomas Tuchel is believed to have approved the signing of Senegal captain Koulibaly, who celebrated his 31st birthday last month.
The defender has been on Chelsea's radar for a number of seasons; Maurizio Sarri hoped to bring him to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2018. But no deal was previously possible with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis's intent on keeping Koulibaly in south Italy.
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However, Koulibaly has just one year remaining on his Napoli contract and is ready for a new challenge. And, according to French journalist Romain Collet-Gaudin, the centre-back has said of Chelsea's attempts to sign him: "I'll confirm that later, but it's on the right track."
Chelsea, meanwhile, continue to push forward on a deal for Ake. The Netherlands international is a player Tuchel was first interested in signing while at Borussia Dortmund, and his versatility would offer the Chelsea head coach an option centre-back, left-back and defensive midfield.
City are hoping to receive a fee in excess of £40million for Ake, who is a Chelsea academy graduate and made 17 first-team appearances for the Blues before being sold to Bournemouth in the summer of 2017. He joined City two seasons ago in a deal worth £41m.
Additions to Tuchel's defensive ranks are likely to accelerate the departure of Cesar Azpilicueta to Barcelona. football.london understands the Chelsea captain has been offered a lucrative two-year contract by the La Liga side and has informed the Blues that he would like to depart after a decade of fine service at Stamford Bridge.
Marcos Alonso also remains keen on a move to the Camp Nou his summer. The 31-year-old wing-back has less than a year remaining on his Chelsea contract, and talks to extend that have not been opened. Barcelona have yet to submit an official offer for the Spain international, however.
Chelsea's work in the transfer market will continue in earnest in the coming three weeks. The Blues continue to consider various right-wing-back options as they search for an able deputy to Reece James and want to bring in another attacking player, having missed out on Leeds United winger Raphinha to Barcelona.
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