Trevoh Chalobah’s contract extension could force Chelsea to drop their longstanding plans of securing the signature of Jules Kounde from La Liga outfit Sevilla, admitted Thomas Tuchel.
The Chelsea boss ensured the Blues tied down the breakthrough performer in Chalobah to a new long-term deal that will run until the summer of 2026 following the defender’s stellar run of form this new campaign.
With Tuchel pushing for the club to hand new contracts to star defensive duo Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen beyond next summer, there is speculation that the Blues remain in pursuit of summer target Jules Kounde.
Sevilla had played hardball over pricing concerns in the summer transfer window with Kounde ended up staying put at the Spanish outfit despite Chelsea being credited with a strong interest in landing the France international.
Reports from Goal quote Tuchel’s remarks in which the German has admitted that Chalobah penning extended terms at the Bridge might force a rethink of Chelsea’s plans of bringing in a new signing for the defensive roster.
“I think every transfer period you need to evaluate again because you cannot say what we wanted in the summer we do in the winter or the next summer. It is not like this.”
“Your opinion changes, players change, you have evolvement in the group. You have atmosphere that you build, you see who is absolutely reliable and these connections build up and create something special, hopefully, in the group.
“So you cannot say what we tried in the summer did not happen so we will try again for sure in the winter. Sometimes it is like this if we see the same need, but clearly Trevoh is now here with us and he deserves to be here with us. It had nothing to do with if we can sign another central defender or not.
“But he stepped up. The responsibility was even more on his shoulders and he can handle it so far in a very impressive way. This is the situation and it has an effect on our next decisions in the next transfer period. It is always like this.”
