Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel must be getting somewhat nervous at seeing his rivals strengthen with only three days passed in this summer's transfer window.
Liverpool have signed Darwin Nunez, Man City have signed Erling Haaland, Arsenal have acquired Marquinhos, and Tottenham have poached Ivan Perisic and Fraser Forster on free transfers amid talks with Djed Spence. Meanwhile, the Blues have stood still despite strong rumours of Jules Kounde and Ousmane Dembele signings on the horizon.
In fact, player outgoings and contract renewals have been the story of the early days of the window. Todd Boehly and the board's ambition to make crucial decisions in player retention and outlay will free up space on the wage bill for Tuchel's £200million transfer to be finally unlocked - and the Blues of course are already playing catch up following three months of inability to act on transfers and renewals.
READ MORE: Ruben Neves tells Chelsea why Wolves star could be 'fantastic' signing amid £25m transfer talk
As already known, defence is a key area of concern for the Blues to address immediately following the exits of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen respectively. Marcos Alonso and potentially Cesar Azpilicueta could both follow suit, meaning at least two or three defensive additions to the squad are expected this summer.
Kounde, who Sevilla are now resigned to lose, is expected to be one of the first signings of the Boehly era as technical director Petr Cech informed the fans of the latest regarding the transfer plans that are being worked on for Tuchel. "I live on the phone! It will be a busy summer. We will plan, prepare and try to be as strong as we can next season," he told Sky Sports News, via The Metro.
"I think everybody knows where we are in terms of the team. Of course, we will try to strengthen the team.
"We want to do the best possible and be ready to compete next season. It’s going to be a tough season with a World Cup in-between so we need to be ready for that."
Amid rumours that the Blues are now in direct negotiations for a player that they failed to sign so notably last summer, the next few days could see some true action which would end all the speculation. This is because after France's final Nations League game against Croatia, Kounde will be free of international duties until they come around again in September.
Predictably, this will speed up the process significantly despite surgery worries that Didier Deschamps mentioned post-match. Everyone associated with Chelsea will now have to anxiously wait and see what going under the knife means for the Kounde deal.
Chelsea fans- If Jules Kounde is the first arrival through the door this summer, who do you think will and needs to be the next? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
