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Thomas Tuchel has achieved his “top priority” for the transfer window by signing Raheem Sterling, while the Chelsea head coach cannot foresee Robert Lewandowski arriving.
Sterling joined Manchester City for a reported fee in the region of £45million on Wednesday, as Chelsea confirmed their first signing since Todd Boehly’s consortium acquired the Blues.
The England international, who signed a five-year deal with Chelsea, scored 17 goals in all competitions for City last season, a tally bettered by only Riyad Mahrez (24) and Kevin De Bruyne (19).
Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo has also been linked to Stamford Bridge, alongside Barcelona’s top target Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich.
Lewandowski scored 50 goals in all competitions last term, the most of any player across Europe’s top five leagues, and Tuchel appreciates his quality but does not envisage bringing him in.
“I don’t think we have a chance for Lewandowski but if there is a chance, he is one of the best number nines,” said Tuchel.
“The priority is not on the number nine position right now. We have our top priority [Sterling], we have got our top priority signed. It makes me very, very happy and from there we are very flexible.
“He was the absolute number one for that position. I gave his name to Todd straight away. Every time we played against him, he’s horrible to play against, horrible!
“The main point is his intensity and the amount of repetition of intensity that he delivers. This is simply outstanding over the last years.
“It’s exactly what we need to raise the level of our players. That’s why we are so sure and that’s why he was, for us, top of the list.
“Our goal threat should be enough right now. If we think something crazy comes up that we don’t see, maybe we will get involved, maybe not.”
The versatile Sterling is expected to bring experience to the Chelsea attack, a feature lacking at the back for the Blues after the departure of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
Cesar Azpilicueta is reportedly wanted by Barca as well, while Chelsea appear set to bring in Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly to somewhat fill the void in defence.
The minimum requirement for success under Boehly will be a top-four Premier League finish to qualify for the Champions League, and Tuchel acknowledged he must rebuild to develop a competitive squad.
“I think with Thiago [Silva] in the middle, Toni on the left and Azpi [Cesar Azpilicueta] or Andreas [on the right] we had the best back-three in the world,” he added.
“It’s possible [to rebuild at short notice]. We can, we have to. I think we can put a structure in place and we have a structure on which we can rely on.
“For example, if we play against Everton, Thiago can play, Trevoh Chalobah can hopefully play, and Azpi is at the moment here.
“If there are guys still to be signed or not fully aware of the principles, I don’t want to use it as an excuse. When I came in, I had one day to start with the back-three because it was a fit and I still think it will be a fit.
“The first 10 days or 11 days with the group have been outstanding. The mentality, worth ethic and quality in training is absolutely impressive and this makes me very happy.
“I want to be ready when we play Everton. I want to win and I will demand it from myself, my team and all my players.
“The team will be strong. I am not ready to use it as an excuse even though it is maybe true that we are in transition. We can, I can focus, I think the team can focus on what makes us strong and we can take it step by step and work out how to win games.”
While Chelsea made their long-awaited first signing in Sterling, top-four rivals Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City have all been busy in the transfer window.
Tuchel was quick to hail the transfer dealings of Antonio Conte, who looks set to seal his sixth signing of the transfer window in Djed Spence, and conceded Chelsea will have to catch up with their competitors.
“I mean it when I said we fight against the best teams and the best coaches, which does not make life easier and they set the bar so high last season, but we start again from scratch,” said Tuchel.
“So we will try again. I can promise you that everybody is ready to try again. We will not give in before we play games. That’s why the sanctions did not help. We lost important players and the other teams are recruiting, and did not have the losses that we had.
“If you look at the transfer period of Tottenham with Antonio Conte, it’s maybe the strongest team they ever built. Manchester United will not give in, Arsenal will not give in, they’ve made two big signings already, so we are aware of the situation and try to do our best to be competitive.”
