Chelsea: Tuchel ‘really wants’ £50m star on top of Kounde at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is keen to add Presnel Kimpembe to his options even if fellow central defender Jules Kounde heads to Stamford Bridge, according to Daily Star journalist Paul Brown.

The Blues have already missed out on one defensive target as Matthijs de Ligt joined Bayern Munich in a £68million deal instead of heading to west London, but reinforcements appear to be in the offing.

Although Chelsea are understood to still be in talks over a £50million move for Paris Saint-Germain star Kimpembe and Tuchel is playing an active part in negotiations, there are doubts over whether he will head to Stamford Bridge.

That is because the 26-year-old is settled in the French capital and would rather remain on his boyhood club’s books despite their willingness to sanctioning his departure.

Tuchel has been looking to recruit new defenders due to Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen joining Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively following the expiry of their contracts.

According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea sent an official bid for Kounde earlier this week and are still waiting to hear a response from Sevilla.

Romano suggests the 11-cap France international has been in talks with the Blues and Barcelona over the course of the last two weeks.

Brown believes Tuchel is desperate to seal a reunion with Kimpembe after selecting him on 80 occasions during his time in the PSG hot seat.

However, the journalist has doubts over whether he will succeed in recruiting the Frenchman if Kounde signs on the dotted line.

Brown told GIVEMESPORT: “The interesting thing is that I think the manager, regardless of the de Ligt situation, really wanted Kimpembe because they worked together in Paris.

“While Kounde might be a better