Thomas Tuchel was delighted to complete the signing of Raheem Sterling from Manchester City, but says Chelsea must continue to provide “the highest quality” to compete for the Premier League.
The Blues sealed a £ 47.5m deal on Wednesday to add Sterling to their squad and, speaking to Sky Sports News, Tuchel described himself as “super happy”, explaining that the England striker would be a “great improvement “for Chelsea.
The London club are also approaching the capture of Kalidou Koulibaly, with the Napoli center-back in the capital for his health after the clubs agreed on a fee of around £ 32 million.
However, the Chelsea coach made it clear that Chelsea, who have seen renowned players Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Romelu Lukaku leave this summer, will have to continue to incorporate high-caliber signings if they want to compete with City. and Liverpool. the highest honors this coming season.
“The stakes are very high and we are competing not only against the best teams that have ever played in the Premier League, but also against the best coaches,” Tuchel said.
“If you [then] see the transfer period and coaching at Tottenham, if you see the same at Arsenal, at Man Utd, we know what the challenge is. It’s the hardest challenge you can [have].
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Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says they need to sign quality players like Raheem Sterling to challenge the Premier League.
“We come from sanctions, we come from losing top players, key players, we are a club in transition, in transition of ownership, we were behind in the transfer race and we were left behind at the table. So we have things to do. improve.
“The signing of Raheem shows what we are capable of doing, it shows the ambition of the club and the ownership and it is good because we are all here to win and compete.
“We love to compete and we love the challenge at the top. That’s why we need signings of new quality players or else there’s no chance.”
Tuchel describes the relationship between him and his co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali as “very close and intense” right now, with the couple assisting the head coach with transfers in the absence of a permanent sporting director.
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Mason Mount believes Chelsea’s new signing Raheem Sterling will be a great presence and a leader at the London club
The German says the trio is focusing on incorporating the best possible players to match them with the club’s current squad and young emerging talent.
“He started by analyzing last season, our performances, our staff, where we think we need to improve and we can improve,” Tuchel said, explaining the hiring process.
“It’s no secret that we lost the best players and we have to replace them. Even if they had stayed, we needed improvements to reduce the difference, so now we need even more.
“We have top-tier players and, more importantly, we have a top-tier team. But if we bring in players we need the highest quality and the maximum character and then you talk about the best ones playing this game.
“What we will never forget is the mix, because what makes Chelsea special is the number of players in the academy and we will never hesitate to give them responsibility and push them because the mix makes it special and exciting for me to be and part of it and that’s the way to go. “
Tuchel declined to comment on links with Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and said signing another striker “is not the priority” now that Sterling has joined the squad. Instead, his focus is on Chelsea’s bottom line.
“I would not rule it out [signing another striker] but right now it’s not the priority. The priority right now is defense, it’s no secret. From here we have to see what is possible, ”Tuchel said.
“We are competing against the two best teams, but Tottenham made a very active and aggressive and early transfer period, perhaps they have the strongest team they have ever had with one of the best coaches in the world, Man Utd. he has to recruit a new coach and Arsenal already had big signings, so we have to maintain the level to be competitive. “
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