Thomas Tuchel can give Serge Gnabry what Bayern Munich can't if Chelsea complete £34m transfer
Chelsea are now making moves in the summer transfer window.
It took its time, but it now feels like the window can be a one of real success for the
Blues as they look to kick on under Thomas Tuchel.
The club confirmed on Wednesday that Raheem Sterling has signed a five-year deal at Stamford
Bridge, joining from Manchester City for a fee that could eventually rise to £55million.
The move for Sterling has been widely perceived as a positive one for Chelsea, but the club's
supporters accept the fact there is plenty more work to do this summer.
Tuchel confirmed in an interview with Sky Sports earlier this week that the club's attention
has now turned to bring in numerous defenders following the exits of Antonio Rudiger and
Andreas Christensen.
The Chelsea head coach said: "I would not rule it out [signing another striker], but
right now, it is not the priority.
"The priority right now is defence, it's not a secret.
From there, we need to see what is possible."
Like Tuchel said – it is not a secret.
Chelsea wants to bring three new centre-backs to the club over the summer.
At the time of writing, Kalidou Koulibaly, Nathan Ake and Presnel Kimpembe seem to be
the Blues' top targets.
However, when at least one of them is secured and posing with a Chelsea shirt, there is
likely to be an incentive for the Blues to go out and target another attacker.
Previous interest in the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Raphinha suggests it is a right-sided
attacker Tuchel craves.
football.london understands Chelsea are considering a move for Bayern Munich and Germany winger
Serge Gnabry, who is valued at €40m (£33.8m).
With less than 12 months remaining on his contract with the Bundesliga champions, the
club could look to offload the winger and avoid the risk of losing him on a free transfer
next summer.
Gnabry, according to The Athletic, has refused to sign a contract extension at the Allianz
Arena.
However, it's believed that money is not the sticking point in negotiations for the Germany
international, and it's actually down to footballing reasons that he has rejected the chance to
commit his future to the club.
The 27-year-old is naturally a right winger, but he was used as a right wing-back after
the winter break last season for Bayern.
Gnabry is said to be unhappy with manager Julian Nagelsmann because of this, and that
is part of his reason for refusing to extend his stay in Munich.
Despite being used in a back-five for a lot of the season, Gnabry still finished the term
with 17 goals and 10 assists to his name.
The German, though, is not pushing for a move away from Bayern as it stands.
He is expected to be on Bayern's pre-season tour of the United States, with the squad
set to jet off to America on Friday.
With Chelsea on the lookout for someone to play on the right wing – with Hakim Ziyech
possibly leaving Stamford Bridge this summer, also – Tuchel could win Gnabry over with
the promise he is a consistent cog in the Blues' attack.
There is nothing advanced yet, though, in the possible pursuit of Gnabry – with interest
all there is at this stage.