Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has made an ‘urgent appeal’ for his side to sign improvements to the squad after their 4-0 pre-season friendly loss against Arsenal.
The Blues were well beaten at the hands of their London rivals, with goals from Gabriel Jesus, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Albert Sambi Lokonga inflicting a heavy defeat on the World Champions.
It was also Chelsea’s final match of their pre-season schedule, having previously beaten Club America 2-1 and lost to Charlotte FC via a penalty shootout.
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They face one last test this summer before they begin preparations for the new Premier League season, with the Blues travelling to Italy to play Udinese.
Although new signings Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly both featured against Arsenal in the defeat, Tuchel believes that more work needs to be done in the transfer market, with the loss set to be a wakeup call for the side.
There is still time left in the window for Chelsea to bring in new additions, but they have not been quick with their targets thus far.
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Speaking after the game, the German boss was asked about the links with Jules Kounde and if his squad needs more players, saying: "There is no update, no update.
“The analysing of the season does not change because of this game. Unfortunately, it proved my point and the last week proves my point.
“I would prefer to not be right and I did everything to prove myself wrong, but at the moment I feel I was right when I look at the last season and at the parts of the game where we struggled and how we struggled.
"We got sanctioned and players left us, we know that some players are trying to leave us, and this is where it is.
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“We had an urgent appeal for quality players and a huge amount of quality players.
“We've got two quality players – that is no doubt – but we are not competitive like this and unfortunately, we could see it today."
Kounde is believed to be set to join the club from Sevilla this summer amid Chelsea’s agreement with the Spanish side over a transfer.
However the situation appears to have changed, with Barcelona also reportedly coming to an agreement in principle for the 23-year-old.
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Sevilla are denying such news though, and are instead waiting for Chelsea to send over the documents for the French defender.
Barcelona are thought to be preparing a bid to try and hijack the deal, but it remains to be seen which club Kounde will play for next season.
He has been a long-term target for Chelsea since last year and he would be the second defensive signing of the summer after Koulibaly.
However should the deal fall through, then the club will have to quickly switch their attention to other targets ahead of the new season.
Topics: Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea, Arsenal
Robert Calcutt