Chelsea are set for a busy transfer window with plenty of work to do to close the gap on Liverpool and Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table. A number of first-team stars are set to depart Stamford Bridge in the summer too leaving new owner Todd Boehly with plenty of work.
The departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen have already been confirmed by Thomas Tuchel but they may not be the last to leave. Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta have also been slated for the moves while the futures of Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech remain up in the air too.
Chelsea were put on the back foot ahead of the summer after Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government. It left the Blues unable to negotiate transfers or even new contracts, leaving Tuchel frustrated.
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“You can always end up in a situation where players at the end of the season can have talks with other clubs, have different ideas and maybe get distracted because they sign for other teams," Tuchel admitted earlier in May. "It happens. It’s a bit easier if you are also free to act and be more involved in the talks."
One player high on their transfer list this summer is Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde, who they are hoping to sign for £50 million. Chelsea have been chasing the French international for a year now and are hoping to finally land his services this summer and appear to be leading the race.
But they are not alone in their pursuit. According to a report by Mundo Deportivo, Xavi wants to bring Kounde to the Camp Nou and has targeted the 23-year-old. Kounde and Kalidou Koulibaly have been shortlisted by the Barca legend ahead of the summer potentially scuppering Chelsea's plans.
