Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has reportedly put together an exciting three man transfer shortlist as he searches for a new defender this summer.
The Blues have an exemplary defensive record since Tuchel took over, conceding just two goals in 13 games under his new five-back system.
However, Tuchel is expected to ring the changes this summer to stamp his authority on the squad.
And the heart of the defence is one of the areas he is looking to change, despite their early success.
According to The Athletic, Tuchel has already identified three world class centre-halves he wants to bring in this summer.
One of those is sextuple winner with Bayern Munich, Niklas Sule, who faces stiff competition for places at the Allianz Arena.
RB Leipzig and France U21 international Ibrahima Konate is also on the list, with injuries and a lack of chances leaving him on the fringes of Julian Nagelsmann’s plans.
Finally, Atletico Madrid stalwart Jose Gimenez would be a more experienced option, with seven seasons of regular La Liga action under his belt.
Tuchel responded to queries about his plans for the summer transfer window recently amid their lack of regular goals.
"It is not time to reflect for the summer and other solutions, other than what we have,” he said.
"We have guys that we are happy with and are looking for more solutions; we will try to help them.
"In general, I am happy because we don't only look at the output in how they score and assist.
“Of course, this is a statistic in which every striker is attached to and everyone has to have the mentality to cope with the statistic. It is like this at high-level football.
"We are still waiting for a breakthrough for the guys to be on a run to score consistently, it is not the case. We will never stop pushing and looking for solutions to create even more clear chances for them. That's the way it is."
