Cristiano Ronaldo rumour dismissed by Thomas Tuchel

 

Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea's head coach, has said that the club's objective this summer is not to add another forward.

The purchase of Raheem Sterling from Manchester City on a five-year deal was finalised, the Blues announced on Wednesday night.

But since Romelu Lukaku has already left Stamford Bridge and other offensively-minded players are rumoured to be leaving, the West Londoners have understandably been connected to prospective replacements.

 Cristiano Ronaldo, a striker for Manchester United who is rumoured to be open to leave Old Trafford, has drawn attention from Chelsea in recent months.

Robert Lewandowski has been linked to Chelsea as a potential option to Barcelona, who are the apparent favourites to capture the Bayern Munich attacker.

 

Tuchel has, however, hinted that he would not bring in any more new players for the final third of the team's preseason tour of the United States.

The German said to Sky Sports News: "I wouldn't rule anything out, but it's not our top focus right now. It's no secret that defence is the top concern right now. We must next determine what is feasible from there. 

"We're up against the two best teams, but Tottenham did a very active, aggressive, and early transfer window, they have possibly their strongest squad they've ever had with one of the best coaches in the world, Man Utd are never afraid to bring in new players with a new coach, and Arsenal had some big signings already, so we need to keep the level up to be competitive," said a Tottenham player.

With a third central defender potentially available later in the summer transfer window, Chelsea is reportedly close to signing two new central defenders.

Kalidou Koulibaly of Napoli may be officially announced as a Chelsea player as early as Thursday. The Senegal international is rumoured to have already gone to London for a medical.

On Wednesday, it was also reported that Chelsea and Man City have made progress in their negotiations about a Nathan Ake trade.

Presnel Kimpembe of Paris Saint-Germain is also rumoured to be on Chelsea's radar and may become a target after at least one of the aforementioned deals has been completed.

Due to the free transfers of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger, Tuchel is attempting to fortify his defence.

Additionally, according to trade analyst Fabrizio Romano, if three new defenders are bought, teenage defender Levi Colwill may permanently depart Stamford Bridge.