Chelsea draw up ‘eight-man shortlist’ in bid to bolster defence ahead of Rudiger, Christensen exits
Chelsea have reportedly added central defenders Jules Kounde and Josko Gvardiol to their ‘eight-player’ summer transfer shortlist.
The Blues are in dire need of defensive recruits with Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger leaving when their contracts expire next month.
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Rudiger is set to join Real Madrid, meanwhile, Christensen will join Los Blancos’ arch-rivals, Barcelona.
Thomas Tuchel still has Trevoh Chalobah, Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr available to him, with club captain Cesar Azpilicueta’s future uncertain amid interest from Barca.
Bolstering his defence remains the German’s priority this summer, however. Chelsea have been linked with Kounde since last summer when they reportedly agreed personal terms with the Sevilla centre-half.
According to The Telegraph, Kounde is one of eight defenders on the Premier League club’s transfer shortlist.
Chelsea will ‘move as quickly as possible’ once Todd Boehly’s takeover goes through. It was reported on Tuesday that the sale of the club is ‘edging closer’ after Roman Abramovich reportedly met the UK Government requirements for the granting of a new sale licence.
Jules Koundé and Joško Gvardiol are at the top of Chelsea’s 8-man shortlist of defenders this summer… ✅
Tuchel’s top targets. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/21UOT2hpwT
— LDN (@LDNFootbalI) May 24, 2022
The report states that Kounde and RB Leipzig’s Gvardiol are ‘both near the top of their list of defensive targets’.
Kounde is ‘expected to move to Stamford Bridge’ and would likely play on the right of Tuchel’s back-three. Gvardiol, on the other hand, would operate on the left and can also fill in at left-back.
Atletico Madrid defender Jose Gimenez and Villarreal’s Pau Torres are also being tracked by Chelsea, and have been scouted for a number of years.
It is also said that Tuchel could bring in a new midfielder with Jorginho and N’Golo Kante both out of contract at the end of next season.
Chelsea have been linked with Monaco’s Aurelien Tchouameni, with Liverpool and Real Madrid both ahead of the Blues in the race to sign the Frenchman.
The Londoners have also been linked with West Ham midfielder Declan Rice, but the Irons have slapped a whopping £150m price tag on the 23-year-old.