Chelsea: Boehly 'unlikely' to spend £100m on key position at Stamford Bridge | OneFootball

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·13 May 2022

Chelsea: Boehly 'unlikely' to spend £100m on key position at Stamford Bridge

Article image:Chelsea: Boehly 'unlikely' to spend £100m on key position at Stamford Bridge

Daily Star journalist Paul Brown is not sure if incoming Chelsea owner Todd Boehly would be willing to spend £100m on two new centre-backs this summer.

Heading into the upcoming transfer window, the west London club continue to be linked with a host of central defenders.


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Why do Chelsea need new centre-backs?

Chelsea are facing a mass exodus this summer when it comes to their current crop of centre-halves.

It is being reported that Antonio Rudiger has already signed for Real Madrid with just an official announcement to come, while Andreas Christensen is also set for a move to Spain when his contract expires at the end of the season.

According to BBC Sport, the Denmark international has agreed to join Barcelona ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

The La Liga outfit are said to be eyeing Cesar Azpilicueta, too, meaning Thomas Tuchel could be about to lose three of his senior central defenders.

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What has Brown said about Chelsea’s centre-back issue?

With Chelsea set to lose Rudiger, Christensen and possibly Azpilicueta, reports suggest that the Blues are looking at Jules Kounde, Wesley Fofana, Pau Torres and Max Kilman as potential replacements.

Brown, however, thinks Boehly, whose consortium is close to taking over the club, could be reluctant to splash out heavily on that area of the pitch.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the Daily Star reporter said: “I’m not sure they’re going to spend a huge amount of money, really, over the next few years, Chelsea. To sign any of those kind of guys [Fofana, Torres or Kilman] alongside Kounde, you’d probably be looking at more than £100m, and £100m on two centre-backs is probably not what a new owner would want to do as soon as they come in.”

Should Boehly be willing to spend £100m on defenders this summer?

Tuchel will be extremely disappointed if he is not. It is going to cost money to replace centre-backs of Rudiger and Christensen’s quality, the former especially.

He has been such an important player for his manager since the 48-year-old arrived at the club last year.

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Article image:Chelsea: Boehly 'unlikely' to spend £100m on key position at Stamford Bridge

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“He’s been outstanding from the first day to now,” Tuchel said earlier this season (via MailOnline) when discussing the Germany international. “He’s a competitor,” the Chelsea boss later went on to add.

Given the predicament that they are in, there is no doubt that the European champions are going to sign a central defender or two this summer. But if they are going to compete at the top, Boehly has to bring in quality, which could mean having to spend £100m.

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