Chelsea’s defence will take on a wholly different look next season. Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen both left for Spain as free agents. The Dane joined Barcelona who may yet add Cesar Azpilicueta to their ranks too.
With two bona fide centre-halves and a full-back capable of operating in a back three all potentially leaving, Thomas Tuchel desperately needs reinforcements.
The first player drafted in was Kalidou Koulibaly. The Blues wrapped up a deal with Napoli on Friday worth £33.8m.
Koulibaly revealed which two Chelsea players made the decision to move to Stamford Bridge easy in his first interview.
A move for Man City’s Nathan Ake was expected to quickly follow. However, per the Athletic that deal is now dead in the water after Chelsea flatly refused to meet City’s high demands.
That puts Chelsea’s potential move for France international Kimpembe into the spotlight, with the Telegraph revealing the Blues are in talks with both PSG and the player’s agent.
Chelsea reportedly want a move wrapped up as quickly as possible. Given there is under three weeks until the new season begins, Tuchel wants to get his new charges on the training pitch as quickly as possible to integrate them into his system.
Galtier doesn’t rule out Chelsea deal
A £43m fee could be enough to twist PSG’s arm, and their new manager, Christophe Galtier, has addressed the speculation.
“I’ve read everything [that has] been said about Kimpembe,” Galtier told L’Equipe (via Football London).
“We even laughed about it together. I like him – he’s [a] great centre back but what will happen, I don’t know.”
While those comments do not appear to give much away on the surface, the fact he has not ruled out a move could be telling.
Kimpembe an upgrade on Ake anyway?
The collapse of the Ake deal may wind up a blessing in disguise for the Blues.
The Dutchman has never done enough to warrant regular game-time at the Etihad. At 27, he is in the prime of his career and if he isn’t good enough for City, Blues fans may be wondering why he’d be good enough for them.
In contrast, Kimpembe has been a regular at the heart of PSG’s defence for several years.
He is well known to Tuchel through the German’s time at the helm in PSG. What’s more, he has played alongside Thiago Silva in the past when the Brazilian was in Paris.
Kimpembe is a veteran of numerous Champions League campaigns and has featured in the big games for France. On paper, the Parisian looks every bit a smarter buy than Ake.
