As Chelsea's disastrous 2022/23 season dwindles to its conclusion, the attention very much turns to the upcoming summer transfer window as the club look to give Mauricio Pochettino the squad he needs in order to transform the side's fortunes.
Pochettino recently agreed a deal to become the next Blues head coach after weeks of negotiations with the club. The Argentine, who has been out of a job since leaving Paris Saint-Germain last summer, is expected in London this week to finalise the deal that would see him take over at the end of the season.
The 51-year-old will inherit a squad of players who are devoid of any sort of confidence after a season where they have played under four different managers – two of them being permanent.
READ MORE: Chelsea transfer target Victor Osimhen has told Mauricio Pochettino what he wants to hear
The campaign started with Thomas Tuchel at the helm but he was quickly dismissed from his role and replaced by Graham Potter. However, Potter was sacked at the start of last month, with Bruno Saltor taking charge for one game before an unexpected return to Stamford Bridge for Frank Lampard, who is on an interim basis until the end of the season.
Pochettino, though, will take over in time for the 2023/24 season and by then the former Tottenham manager will be hoping he has more or less the squad he wants in order to try and transform the side into a competitive team once again. There are set to be a number of players who leave Stamford Bridge this summer in what is expected to be a transfer window dominated by outgoings.
There are, however, a number of players being targeted by the club. football.london understands, a new goalkeeper, central midfielder and striker are the three main positions Chelsea are looking at recruiting in the summer.
Andre Onana of Inter Milan, who recently impressed in the Italian side's Champions League semi-final win against their city rivals AC Milan, is a target for Chelsea. The Blues currently have Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy to choose from but neither have done enough to convince the board they will be the club's first-choice goalkeeper in the coming years.
David Raya of Brentford is also an option, with the Spaniard expected to leave the Bees in the summer. Everton's Jordan Pickford is also someone Chelsea like but his name hasn't been spoken about as much as the other two in recent weeks.
A new central midfielder is also being looked at, with the Blues having a not-so-short shortlist of players. The likes of Romeo Lavia, Edson Alvarez, Youssouf Fofana, Manu Kone and Moises Caicedo are all players the club really like and have scouted intensely this season.
Declan Rice is a wanted man this summer, with Arsenal currently the front-runners for his signature. Bayern Munich, though, who are managed by Tuchel, have also expressed an interest in the England international in recent weeks. football.london has been told not to rule Chelsea out of the race to sign Rice despite the Blues being unable to offer the midfielder any sort of European football next season.
Chelsea have a number of midfielders that could leave the club in the summer. Mateo Kovacic could well leave the club after four-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge. The likes of Conor Gallagher and Mason Mount are also wanted elsewhere, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek having admirers in Italy.
Finally, Chelsea are also looking at options for the central striker spot as they look to solve their goal scoring problems this season. The Blues have fired just 36 goals in 35 Premier League matches this term and they are looking for a No.9 who can come in and score 15 to 20 goals for them.
Victor Osimhen could be that man. As football.london reported earlier in the week, the club are considering making a move for the Napoli centre-forward in the summer after a breathtaking season for the Nigerian, who helped fire the Azzurri to their first Italian league title in over 30 years.
Osimhen, though, is one of European football's hottest properties right now and is expected to have countless potential suitors when the summer transfer window opens. They all will almost definitely have European football to offer the 24-year-old as well, something Chelsea do not have, so that could be an issue.
Another possible stumbling block is that Napoli are adamant they will not sell Osimhen in the summer. Club president Aurelio De Laurentiis is a notoriously tough negotiator and he recently insisted he has no plans to sell his star striker at any price, but that could of course be a bargaining chip of sorts.
However the summer transfer window goes, one thing is for certain: it's going to be another busy one for Chelsea. That's almost become the norm now. When the transfer window rolls around, you just have to expect that Chelsea are going to be dominating the headlines.
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