Chelsea need Fofana and De Jong but returning loanees could solve Tuchel’s issues

Chelsea have a number of problems to fix with the new Premier League season looming on the horizon.

Blues manager Thomas Tuchel recently delivered an astonishing rant about his team’s lack of readiness for the upcoming campaign after a damning 4-0 pre-season defeat to Arsenal.

“I cannot guarantee we will be ready (for the start of the season) in two weeks,” he said.

“It’s the same players, so why should anything change?

“We will see hopefully development but at the moment we have the same issues because we have the same players.”

Tuchel is not one to sugar-coat his feelings and the situation at Chelsea is never usually as bleak as the German makes out in the immediate aftermath of a defeat.

Their dodgy pre-season was to be expected with only three games and a fully-rotated squad of 22 players, some of whom will not be part of Tuchel’s plans.

Even with club-record signing Romelu Lukaku misfiring last season, and sanctions placed on ex-owner Roman Abramovich, the Blues still managed to finish third.

Tuchel has spoken about the damage of wantaway players in his squad creating negative vibes – but right now the Blues cannot afford to sell defenders, particularly Azpilicueta, who can fill in at centre-back.

One injury to Trevoh Chalobah, Koulibaly, or 37-year-old Thiago Silva – and the club are in deep trouble.

Leicester defender Wesley Fofana has emerged as the club’s No.1 target following the Kounde disappointment.

The Frenchman, 21, is a ready-made Premier League star and emerged as one of English football’s brightest talents before suffering a serious injury before the beginning of last season.

France and Paris Saint-Germain defender Presnel Kimpembe was also thought to be an option for the Blues but hopes on that deal are fading.

Tuchel worked with the 26-year-old during his time at the Parc des Princes and partnered the centre-back with current Chelsea man Silva but he seems set to stay in the French capital.

A couple of Inter Milan defenders also continue to be mentioned in connection with Chelsea: Denzel Dumfries and Milan Skriniar.

In midfield, the same decisions need to be made over Jorginho and N’Golo Kante, who are also out of contract in 2023.

Both players are now in their 30s and Chelsea could do with an injection of youth into their midfield, especially with the possibility of Jorginho and Kante leaving.

Conor Gallagher could be the answer, returning from an impressive loan spell at Crystal Palace, while the Blues have also been linked with Barca’s Frenkie de Jong.

Up top, Tuchel will hope Sterling can be the goalscorer he so desperately craves amid disappointing returns from his army of forwards last season.

The ex-Man City man can play through the middle as a No.9 and bagged 20 Premier League goals in the 2019/20 campaign.

Last time a Chelsea player achieved that feat – Diego Costa in 2016/17 – they won the title – and it was the same story with the Spain striker in 2014/15.

But like with Gallagher, Armando Broja could provide the answers to Tuchel’s problems up top after returning from an impressive loan spell at Southampton.

So are there issues at Chelsea? Yes. Do they need to sign more players? Absolutely. Fofana and De Jong would go a long way to making things look a little more optimistic.

But it is not quite as bad as Tuchel suggests – and many of the answers could be right under his nose.