With just weeks until the summer transfer window officially opens, football.london takes a look at what could be a perfect period for Chelsea ahead of a crucial 2023/24 campaign
As Chelsea's disastrous 2022/23 season dwindles to its conclusion, the attention very much turns to the upcoming summer transfer window as the club look to give Mauricio Pochettino the squad he needs in order to transform the side's fortunes.
The 51-year-old will inherit a squad of players who are devoid of any sort of confidence after a season where they have played under four different managers – two of them being permanent.
Pochettino, though, will take over in time for the 2023/24 season and by then the former Tottenham manager will be hoping he has more or less the squad he wants in order to try and transform the side into a competitive team once again. There are set to be a number of players who leave Stamford Bridge this summer in what is expected to be a transfer window dominated by outgoings.
There are, however, a number of players being targeted by the club. football.london understands, a new goalkeeper, central midfielder and striker are the three main positions Chelsea are looking at recruiting in the summer.
Andre Onana of Inter Milan, who recently impressed in the Italian side's Champions League semi-final win against their city rivals AC Milan, is a target for Chelsea. The Blues currently have Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy to choose from but neither have done enough to convince the board they will be the club's first-choice goalkeeper in the coming years.
David Raya of Brentford is also an option, with the Spaniard expected to leave the Bees in the summer. Everton's Jordan Pickford is also someone Chelsea like but his name hasn't been spoken about as much as the other two in recent weeks.
Declan Rice is a wanted man this summer, with Arsenal currently the front-runners for his signature. Bayern Munich, though, who are managed by Tuchel, have also expressed an interest in the England international in recent weeks. football.london has been told not to rule Chelsea out of the race to sign Rice despite the Blues being unable to offer the midfielder any sort of European football next season.
Finally, Chelsea are also looking at options for the central striker spot as they look to solve their goal scoring problems this season. The Blues have fired just 36 goals in 35 Premier League matches this term and they are looking for a No.9 who can come in and score 15 to 20 goals for them.
Osimhen, though, is one of European football's hottest properties right now and is expected to have countless potential suitors when the summer transfer window opens. They all will almost definitely have European football to offer the 24-year-old as well, something Chelsea do not have, so that could be an issue.
Another possible stumbling block is that Napoli are adamant they will not sell Osimhen in the summer. Club president Aurelio De Laurentiis is a notoriously tough negotiator and he recently insisted he has no plans to sell his star striker at any price, but that could of course be a bargaining chip of sorts.
However the summer transfer window goes, one thing is for certain: it's going to be another busy one for Chelsea. That's almost become the norm now. When the transfer window rolls around, you just have to expect that Chelsea are going to be dominating the headlines.