With less than two weeks until the season starts Andre Villas-Boas is keen to bring in new players to strengthen his squad.
Following his success at Porto and his need to justify his own large price tag that the Chelsea hierarchy paid for him, means that there is a lot expected from the upcoming season.
New talent is required to achieve the success that is expected, it is thought the Blues are in the process of increasing their bid for Luka Modric to £30m – a fee that may make Spurs’ owner Daniel Levy think twice about refusing to sell him.
Another player who is still interesting Villas-Boas is his old midfield star Joao Moutinho, a player he knows very well from Porto and is confident he would be able to adapt to life in the Premiership. Should he wish to prise Moutinho away from his old club, he would have to meet their £35m release clause.
With AVB keen to use a 4-3-3 formation, there is also a need to add width to the squad. The club was linked to Adam Johnson last week, but it is unlikely Roberto Mancini will see the England player. Instead, Chelsea may turn their attention to Shakhtar Dontesk’s Brazilian midfielder Willian.
By Scott Balaam
Twitter @theshed11