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Thomas Tuchel was delighted with the signing of Raheem Sterling from Manchester City but says Chelsea must continue to bring “top quality” to contend for the Premier League.
The Blues sealed a £47.5million deal to add Sterling to their squad on Wednesday and speaking to Sky Sports News, Tuchel described himself as “super happy” and explained that the England striker would be a “huge improvement” to the squad of Chelsea would represent.
The London club are also close to capturing Kalidou Koulibaly, with the Napoli centre-back in the capital for his medical treatment after the clubs agreed a fee of around £32million.
However, the Chelsea head coach made it clear that Chelsea, who have left notable players Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Romelu Lukaku this summer, must continue to bring in high-profile signings if they are to compete with City and Liverpool for the top accolades next season.
“There is a lot at stake and we are not only playing against the best teams that have ever played in the Premier League, but also against the best coaches,” said Tuchel.
“If you [then] Look at the transfer window and the quality of the manager at Tottenham, if you see the same at Arsenal and Man Utd we know what the challenge is. It’s the toughest challenge you can [have].
“We’re coming from sanctions, we’re coming from the loss of high-profile players, key players, we’re a club in transition, in ownership transfer, we’ve been behind in the transfer race and we’ve been behind in the table. So we have things to do to improve.
“The signing of Raheem shows what we are capable of, it shows the club’s ambition and ownership and it’s good because we’re all here to win and to compete.
“We love to compete and we love the challenge at the top. For that we need the signing of new top-class players, otherwise there is no chance.”
Tuchel currently describes the relationship between him and co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali as “very close and intense”, with the pair assisting the head coach on transfers in the absence of a permanent sporting director.
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Mason Mount believes Chelsea’s new signing Raheem Sterling will have a huge presence and leadership role at the London club
The German says the trio are focused on bringing in the best possible players to combine with the club’s current squad and up-and-coming young talents.
“It started with analyzing last season, our performances, our squad, where we think we need to improve and can improve,” said Tuchel, explaining the recruitment process.
“It’s no secret that we lost top players and we need to replace them. Even if they had stayed, we needed to improve to close the gap, so we need more now.”
“We have top players and more importantly, we have a top team. But when we get players we need top quality with top character and then you’re talking about the very best playing this game.
“What we will never forget is the mix because what makes Chelsea special is the amount of academy players and we will never hesitate to give them responsibilities and push them because the mix makes it special and exciting for me, manager to be and a part of, and this is the path we must follow.”
Tuchel declined to comment on the links to Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, saying signing another striker was “not the priority” after Sterling was added to the squad. Instead, he focuses on Chelsea’s backline.
“I wouldn’t rule it out [signing another striker] but right now it’s not the priority. The priority right now is defense, it’s no secret. We’ll have to see what’s possible,” said Tuchel.
“We’re up against the top two teams but Tottenham have come through a very active and aggressive and early transfer period. They have perhaps the strongest squad they’ve ever had with one of the best managers in the world, Man Utd are never shy about recruiting with him, a new manager and Arsenal have already had some big signings so we need to maintain the level to be competitive to be.”
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