Jules Kounde, Ousmane Dembele: Five players linked with summer transfer to Chelsea

With the protracted sale of the club finally completed, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel will be keen to strengthen his squad this summer. The Blues finished comfortably behind Manchester City and Liverpool last season and Tuchel will be keen to close the gap on the Premier League’s top two.

Top of the agenda will be replacing Real Madrid bound Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen who’s been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona. Both players will be officially out of contract at the end of the month, leaving a huge hole in the Blues’ defence.

Midfield and attack are also areas Chelsea could do with strengthening and as such they’ve been linked with a plethora of names this summer. With that said here are the main transfer rumours surrounding the club.

READ MORE: Antonio Rudiger’s Chelsea replacement secured already with £4.5m signing after Cobham lesson

Jules Kounde

Kounde is a long-term Chelsea target and reportedly came close to joining the club last summer. The Sevilla star is a right-sided central defender who can also operate at right-back which would allow him to seamlessly fit into Tuchel’s favoured back three system.

The France international is under contract at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium until the summer of 2024 and Sevilla have reportedly slapped a £60million price tag on the 23-year-old.

Josko Gvardiol

Gvardiol is a left-footed centre-back experienced at playing on the left of a back three making him an ideal replacement for Rudiger. The RB Leipzig star has emerged as one of Europe’s most promising defenders over the last two seasons and at 20 is very much one for the present and future.

However, the Croatian international is under contract at Red Bull Arena for another four years and would cost a reported £67million.

Declan Rice

The West Ham star is one of the most sought-after and highly rated midfielders in European football. Last season was his most prolific in a Hammers shirt with five goals and four assists in all competitions.

With N’Golo Kante and Jorginho both in their 30s and out of contract next summer Rice, 23, would be the ideal long-term replacement. However, the England star still has two years remaining on his contract with the option of a further year and would cost upwards of £100million.

Neymar

Following the successful conclusion of Kylian Mbappe’s contract saga Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly changing their approach in the transfer market; targeting young, hungry French players. Neymar of course doesn’t fit that particular mould and as such has been linked with a move away from the Ligue 1 champions.

The Brazilian would offer a different dimension to the Blues’ attack and could be a natural replacement for the likes of Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic, who’ve been linked with summer moves. However, PSG would reportedly demand €90million (£76.6m) for the 30-year-old who still has three years left on his contract.

Ousmane Dembele

The Frenchman is set to leave Barcelona when his contract expires at the end of June. Dembele’s time at the Nou Camp has been blighted by injuries, however, Tuchel previously worked with him when he was Borussia Dortmund boss and still rates him highly.

Wages are thought to be an issue though with Dembele reportedly wanting in excess of £200,000 a week. Which could be perceived as a risk given his injury record.

Conclusion

Strengthening the defence has to be the priority for Tuchel as without Rudiger and Christensen Chelsea lack sufficient depth in that area. Cezar Azpilicueta has also been linked with a move away, further emphasising the need to reinforce the backline.

Trevor Chalobah can play on the right of a back three, with Thiago Silva the most central but there is no obvious replacement for Rudiger. With that said the signing of Gvardiol should take precedence.

The 20-year-old has tremendous potential and scope for improvement and his value is only going to increase.