Chelsea have gone through a long and grueling campaign in both domestic and European football but managed to get over the finishing line with the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup in their bag.
However, the Blues failed to push Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League title as they had to settle for a third-place finish last weekend. With some key players expected to leave the West London club this summer, Thomas Tuchel has a tough job addressing some of the problem areas of his squad.
Here are three positions Chelsea should focus on strengthening when the transfer window reopens later this year.
Central Defence
Tuchel has to figure out a way to cope with the potential exits of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger as both their contracts at Stamford Bridge are coming to an end soon. Thus, it makes sense for the Blues to splash the cash on recruiting one or two new, quality centre-backs if they want to challenge for the league title next season.
Midfield
With both N’Golo Kante and Jorginho in their 30s, there is no denying that the London giants have got an aging midfield, so Tuchel would be wise to bolster his central midfield department with a couple of fresh faces this summer.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has struggled to be consistent with his performances this season. Hence, a new, goal-scoring box-to-box midfielder could be what Chelsea need at the moment as they look to bring even more success back to Stamford Bridge.
Centre-Forward
Romelu Lukaku’s lack of consistency and off-the-field behavior was a huge problem for Tuchel to overcome over the past season despite the fact that the Belgian ended the campaign with 15 goals and a couple of assists to his name. Maybe the Blues should consider moving him on and using the money generated from his sale to secure the services of a prolific and proven centre-forward during this summer transfer period.
At the very least, Chelsea should look at signing a quality backup for the Belgian striker if they decide to keep hold of him beyond this campaign.