Transfer decisions Chelsea have already made that should reassure Thomas Tuchel in summer window

The transfer window has not even been open for 48 hours but already a steady throng of players have been linked to Chelsea since the end of the season. There is no doubting the Blues need to be active with a squad rebuild being necessary, or that their job has been made more difficult by the special licence they were required to operate under until Todd Boehly's takeover was completed.

The departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen have amplified the pressure on Thomas Tuchel to reinvigorate his backline, while the centre of midfield has issues that need to be resolved, particularly with N'Golo Kante and Jorginho entering the final year of their deals. Those issues not withstanding, there is also the prospect of a number of other figures leaving with Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso linked with moves to Spain, while if Chelsea hope to strengthen further up the pitch, they may need to decide that a winger also needs to leave to create room.

It's little wonder that Tuchel had no plans to immediately go on holiday declaring it 'impossible' and highlighting the importance of sharing opinions to move forwards into the summer months. The German coach acknowledged following the final match of the season that some work had been completed in identifying targets, but they were behind in comparison to their rivals.

Tuchel said: "We want to stay in the race and Liverpool and Man City do everything to make their squads bigger and they set the standard so high. This is the challenge in which we compete.

"We have at the moment a huge disadvantage [because of the sanctions] - but that's not decisive yet. There is no need to make excuses now, it is just the situation we are in and we have to be as quick as possible. Right