Thomas Tuchel has revealed that he handed Chelsea owner Todd Boehly an 'unrealistic' transfer list that could lead his side to immediately challenge Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title. Chelsea have already spent in the region of £162 million on first-team additions in Raheem Sterling, Marc Cucurella, Carney Chukwuemeka and Kalidou Koulibaly and could yet see Wesley Fofana join for a record fee.
Tuchel does not believe the business his side will undertake is complete. football.london understands that Chelsea are hopeful the third bid for Fofana could tempt Leicester, and the French defender appeared to say goodbye to Foxes supporters at the Emirates on Saturday.
If the Blues were to not add any more players before the end of the month, Tuchel still refuses to put any limits on his side. The German coach knows he is not privileged enough to play fantasy football, despite the vast sums spent so far this summer.
READ MORE: Thomas Tuchel confirms Chelsea transfer status of Conor Gallagher and Callum Hudson-Odoi
He said: "I gave him a list that would have made it possible to fight straight for the title, but it was a pretty unrealistic list. We don't play fantasy football, and in the end, we need to pay for it, convince the players, and convince clubs to give us their best players, and this is simply not happening. I am super happy with what we've succeeded so far: Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Carney (Chukwuemeka) and Marc Cucurella are fantastic signings, and I'm more than happy they are with us. It's not finished, everybody knows. But if it's finished, if we don't do anything else, we fight with this squad. If it's not finished, we try to get further quality and with further quality, the ambition level rises.
He added: "I don't want to limit our ambitions artificially at the beginning of August. I don't want to put pressure on us about any level we want to reach. If you ask me if I feel confident enough that we win the next match, I say 'yes, we can win the next match, and we will prepare to beat Tottenham, which is a bit ask at the moment.
"It is a big match for us against a tough opponent. Then we go step by step. This is a luxury we deserve at the moment because the summer was what it was for us. We are in a bit of delay, this was nobody's fault it is the reality. So the luxury is we focus on our situation now and improve our squad. We have some issues to get better on, and this is what we do. Then we see. In general, every team fights for the top four in this league and then come March or April, if you're in the race, then you're in the race."
Chelsea's opponents on Sunday have completed significant business of their own. Tottenham have added Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Fraser Foster, Clement Lenglet and Ivan Perisic as Antonio Conte prepares for his first full season in charge. The Lilywhites completed their transfers early in the window, putting pressure on the Blues when they travelled to pre-season without a new signing.
Tuchel has had a key role in establishing transfer targets, with Boehly also becoming a sporting director with the departures of Petr Cech and Marina Granovskaia. The Blues boss is not concerned about being less polite or demanding in his manner, the way some see Conte.
He said: "I think he knows, and I think everybody has this nature, and I think we are very clear in our thinking and belief in what we want and which profiles we want. As I said, so far, we've had a very good transfer period in terms of personality and quality. We have ideas. This is clear. I can only be myself towards the team and owners."
READ NEXT:
What Todd Boehly has done to keep Chelsea promise ahead of Tottenham clash at Stamford Bridge
Reece James change, full debut - The Chelsea starting XI Thomas Tuchel should pick vs Tottenham
A surprise guest, two absences and what Ruben Loftus-Cheek did in Chelsea training before Spurs
Thomas Tuchel outlines Chelsea transfer demand ahead of Tottenham clash amid Wesley Fofana links
- Every word Thomas Tuchel said on Chelsea vs Tottenham, Fofana, Aubameyang, transfers, team news
