Tuchel admits Ronaldo joined Man United will make 'life harder' for Chelsea

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel admits he would rather see Cristiano Ronaldo stay in Italy than return to the Premier League at Manchester United.

Tuchel was reacting to confirmation by Juventus boss Max Allegri that Ronaldo is on his way out after three seasons in Turin.

United are in pole position to sign the 36-year-old star who left the club for a record-breaking career at Real Madrid in 2009.

'I don't know if it's good if he plays for any of our rivals,' said Tuchel. 'I could handle the loss very well when he was playing in Italy and not playing for us.

'If he ends up in the Premier League, it's good for the Premier League and shows how competitive and how difficult this league is. At the same time, it will make life harder for us.'

Chelsea paid £97.5million to sign their top target Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan and are still in the market, with an interest in versatile France defender Jules Kounde from Sevilla and Spain midfielder Saul Niguez from Atletico Madrid.

'We have some ideas and we are trying,' said Tuchel. 'Not all decisions are taken. I am happy with the squad like it is and I have a lot of confidence that we are absolutely competitive on a high level but all eyes are open and we are aware of all situations.

'You never know in football but at the moment we are focused on the game at Liverpool and then there are not many days left.'

Kurt Zouma's anticipated exit in a move to West Ham is expected to accelerate the swoop for Kounde.

Zouma will not be part of the Chelsea squad to face Liverpool on Saturday because he is in France for what Tuchel called 'personal issues'.

'Kurt is not with us, but not because of negotiations,' said Tuchel. 'He has some personal issues to solve and we have allowed him to travel to France. There are negotiations between West Ham and Chelsea about Kurt but I don't know where it leads and we wait.'