Thomas Tuchel has already decided on Chelsea’s first three summer signings
According to Football London, Chelsea are to make a fresh attempt to get themselves amongst the runners and riders for the title next season, they are going to have to strengthen the squad in places, particularly in a defensive sense.
Although the club appeared to have solved their defensive woes in the early stages of this season, errors have become more and more apparent in the last few weeks, despite Thiago Silva being on hand to offer no shortage of experience.
Although the summer transfer window is still several months away from opening, a whole host of names are already being linked with moves to Stamford Bridge, including RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano and David Alaba of Bayern Munich.
Upamecano, who is considered as one of the very best upcoming defenders in Europe, has been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea in recent months, as well as other Premier League clubs. The Frenchman is set to make a decision on his future at the end of this season, meaning he will almost certainly leave the German club in the summer.
According to Goal, there is no clear frontrunner for his signature at this moment in time, meaning it remains anybody’s guess where he could end up.
Upamecano, though, is not the only defender to be amongst Chelsea’s targets, with Alaba also an option. The Austrian is out-of-contract at Bayern this summer and is not prepared to sign a new deal.
Chelsea are amongst several clubs to have expressed an interest in Alaba over the last few months but they are now poised to increase their interest further following Tuchel’s arrival, with the German said to be a “big fan” of his talents.
The final signing Tuchel could look to seal during the summer is that of Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland. It was reported by the Italian media towards the end of December that Frank Lampard, the former Chelsea boss, was keen on signing him, with Tuchel now set to extend the club’s interest.
According to reports, Haaland remains on Chelsea’s wish list, although several clubs from across Europe are highly likely to challenge the Blues for his signature.
Haaland has a £68million release clause in his contract, but that does not become active until 2022, meaning any interested party would be forced to pay a much, much higher fee if they were to try and land his signature this forthcoming summer.
But if Roman Abramovich – the Chelsea owner – is willing to back Tuchel, just as he did Lampard last summer, the addition of Haaland could go a long way to helping the German secure Chelsea a Premier League title.