Thomas Tuchel has been told that Reece James and Ben Chilwell can nullify the risk of signing Cristiano Ronaldo. The 37-year-old has been heavily linked with an exit from Manchester United this summer, with Chelsea named as a potential suitor for the striker.
According to The Athletic, Todd Boehly met the Portugal international's agent Jorge Mendes in June, with his client said to be among several topics of conversation. It's said that Ronaldo, who sees his contract with the Red Devils expire in just 11 months, has become increasingly disgruntled at Old Trafford and faces an uncertain future at United.
The report adds that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has already been offered to Bayern Munich, though the German giants have baulked at the proposal. Talk of a move to Chelsea this summer has since cooled but Ronaldo's future remains a hot topic of conversation.
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There has been great discourse among Blues fans as to whether the west Londoners should welcome the striker to Stamford Bridge this summer. The general consensus has been that Ronaldo might not have what it takes to lead the line in Tuchel's physically demanding system.
But, Paul Merson thinks otherwise. Speaking on Sky Sports Soccer Special, the former Arsenal midfielder claimed that wing-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell could play a major role in integrating the Portuguese star into Tuchel's philosophy.
"Chelsea need a centre-forward, you’ve got two of the best wing-backs in the world of football, maybe even three with Cucurella coming in," Merson said. "They play so far up the pitch, it’s not like Man United when you’re on the halfway line, you play at Stamford Bridge - Chelsea kick-off and everyone stands on the edge of their box.
"The amount of times Chelsea’s wing-backs get the ball down the side, if you whip that ball in for Ronaldo, he ain’t got to run anywhere, he ain’t got to run from the half-way line and beat three players - put the ball in the box," Merson added. "You’re talking about one of the best finishers in the world, you don’t get 700, 800 goals if you can’t finish and he doesn’t have to do a lot of running. I just think it ticks the box for me, it’s a no brainer."
And, on the prospect of United allowing their £12.7million-rated striker to join a 'rival', Merson continued: "Why is it their rival? They’re (Man United) not top four, they’re a million miles off, they’re not going to get top four.
"They’ve got to make sure they’re not selling to Newcastle, I’m not being horrible but they’re a million miles. Don’t worry about the top four at the moment, they’ve got to start worrying about the club full stop, they’ve got to start walking again, don’t start sprinting for the top four. I know we might get carried away two games gone, there’s ways of losing football matches. You can’t lose 4-0 to Brentford and that’s no disrespect to Brentford."
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