I am surely not the only one a bit lost by Chelsea's transfer strategy heading into the final few weeks of the window. Targets have continued to shift quickly, and some humbling losses have been had amongst the excitement over the arrivals of Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly.
Less than 24 hours after The Athletic broke a story claiming that the Blues were in talks to sign Inter Milan wing-back Denzel Dumfries. Reports have dropped on Monday afternoon that Chelsea are also trying to hijack Manchester City's deal to sign Brighton wing-back Marc Cucurella.
You can be forgiven for getting whiplash whilst also trying to dissect how this could potentially impact Thomas Tuchel and his squad in the upcoming weeks and months.
READ MORE: Marc Cucurella's stance on Chelsea transfer revealed as Todd Boehly summons Barcelona spirit
There should be clear caution given the failures to sign both Raphinha and Jules Kounde after it seemed both were pretty close. And whilst Barcelona do not (at the current moment) appear interested in Cucurella, who knows if that could change following the next economic lever being pulled.
City could still come back into this picture and would likely offer the Spanish wing-back a more enticing proposal under Pep Guardiola, given the chance of a serious Premier League title push and the prospect of significant minutes following the exit of Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal.
Apparently, Chelsea feel confident in doing a deal with the Seagulls even if this apparent interest has come out of absolutely nowhere.
Do Chelsea really need to spend £50m on a new left-wing-back when they have Ben Chilwell? Also, when you factor in the growth of Ian Maatsen, who scored on his debut on loan with Burnley in the Championship, could he provide a priceless alternative next summer?
Any deal would almost certainly seal the exit of Marcus Alonso and could even spark another in Emerson Palmeri, who remains a part of the squad after a loan at Lyon last season.
Like Guardiola has done with City, the continual investment in upgrading full-back options has proved pivotal in advancing his ideas and keeping City near the summit of the Premier League. It was a major part of his second summer in charge with the arrivals of Kyle Walker, Danilo and Benjamin Mendy.
In further years the likes of Joao Cancelo would arrive to add further quality and challenge the already established first-teamers, increasing the level within the squad.
Like Guardiola, Tuchel relies heavily on his wing-backs to provide key ingredients to make his system function and hurt the opposition. For a brief spell early last season, both Chilwell and Reece James provided the width, mobility, movement and productivity to overwhelm defences.
Maintaining that level when both went down injured proved tricky, and stylistically the gap between Chilwell and Alonso changed a lot of the way Tuchel's style flowed, the same for Cesar Azpilicueta on the other side.
Buying similar profiles is essential to mould a more consistent squad that can maintain the desired level of intensity for longer periods should Chilwell or James go down injured or need to be rotated. Cucurella's energy for Graham Potter last season was a source of danger that Chelsea struggled to deal with last season, with the wing-back setting up Danny Welbeck's stoppage-time equaliser at Stamford Bridge.
The 24-year-old could rival Chilwell's drive down the flanks, which was sorely missed when the England international injured his ACL in November against Juventus.
With the added benefit that Cucurella could also slot into a left-sided defensive role or play in midfield should Tuchel want to continue his 4-4-2 experiment, there are upsides to the player signing, even if the jump to make it happen feels chaotic.
READ NEXT
Thomas Tuchel handed Chelsea wildcard solution to transfer headache after Udinese impact
Todd Boehly bold £168m Chelsea transfer stance can begin to resolve Marina Granovskaia error
- Wesley Fofana Chelsea transfer stance reveals a glaring Todd Boehly problem in defender chase
Todd Boehly next Chelsea signing after Koulibaly and clear pre-season lesson for Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel reveals new Raheem Sterling tactical plan with unpredictable Chelsea trio
