Chelsea finished the season as Champions League winners for only the second time in their history and Thomas Tuchel would have been proud of his what side achieved.
But the German will know that the Blues cannot rest on their laurels if they are to bridge the gap to Liverpool and the two Manchester clubs after finishing fourth in the Premier League.
The west London club spent around £220million in the summer of 2020 on five new signings such as Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, with Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr arriving on free transfers.
But it was previous boss Frank Lampard who oversaw that summer of spending and Tuchel may have designs on bringing in players of his own to bolster his squad.
(Image: Pool via REUTERS)
Chelsea will not be short of transfer funds to use after selling Fikayo Tomori to AC Milan earlier this week in a deal that could reach £30m, while owner Roman Abramovich could pump more millions into the club to help Tuchel achieve his targets.
Mirror Sport rounds up all of the latest transfer rumours and news coming out of Stamford Bridge…
Inter consider double swap
Chelsea are in full pursuit of Inter Milan full-back Achraf Hakimi after learning of the Italian club’s wish to sell him this summer.
The Serie A champions are set to cash in on the 22-year-old, who scored seven goals and laid on eight assists for his team-mates on their way to clinching the Scudetto.
The Nerazzurri’s financial problems mean they are willing to part with Hakimi and Chelsea have already seen a bid of around £50m turned down.
But according to Sky Italy’s Gianluca Di Marzio, Inter held a meeting to discuss a package deal which would see them demand a sizeable fee and two full-backs, Marcos Alonso and Davide Zappacosta, in exchange.
Alonso, 30, nearly joined Inter while Antonio Conte was in charge last season but remained with Chelsea, while Zappacosta is poised to seal a return to Italy following a loan spell at Genoa in 2020-21.
A player-plus-cash deal could give Tuchel’s men the advantage in the race to sign former Real Madrid defender Hakimi, who is also wanted by Paris Saint-Germain.
Chelsea face Lacroix battle
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Tuchel is thought to be in the market to sign another centre-back after the departure of Tomori and doubts over the future of Kurt Zouma.
One player has been strongly linked with a switch to Stamford Bridge is highly-rated Wolfsburg defender Maxence Lacroix, who has been a standout performer in his debut campaign in Germany.
The Frenchman only turned 21 in April but has already become a regular fixture in the Bundesliga’s first team this season, missing only four matches in the league.
Lacroix has been watched by several clubs in Europe and Chelsea are among those interested, according to Foot Mercato.
But they could face stiff competition from RB Leipzig, who have reportedly opened the bidding with an offer of €18m (£15.5m).
However, Wolfsburg are reluctant to sell one of their most promising talents and have responded by demanding €30m (£25.8m). That could interest Chelsea, who sold Tomori for a similar amount to AC Milan.
Liverpool wonderkid drops Blues hint
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Chelsea could be set to snatch a youth prospect from rivals Liverpool after the youngster posted an image of himself visiting the club’s training ground.
Ethan Ennis, 16, has earned rave reviews with some of his performances for the Reds’ Under-18 side this season.
Manchester United were thought to be courting the talented teenager, who scored a hat-trick against Sutton United in March having come off the bench.
According to Football.London, Ennis is set to reject a contract offer from the Reds and that could free him to join Chelsea after being shown around their training complex in Cobham.
That could see Ennis join the esteemed academy which produced the likes of Mason Mount, Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
