Post-Romelu Lukaku's Signing, Thomas Tuchel Wants Chelsea To Secure $34M Young Midfielder: Report

With Romelu Lukaku secured, head coach Thomas Tuchel wants Chelsea to sign Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni in the 2021 summer transfer window.

When the summer window began earlier this year, Chelsea were strongly linked with 21-year-old Tchouameni but the rumors went quiet in no time. With the official announcement of re-signing Lukaku ahead of the 2021-22 campaign, Chelsea's new transfer list includes Tchouameni, reported The Athletic.

Apart from Tchouameni, Chelsea are still chasing Sevilla center-back Jules Kounde, as well as West Ham midfielder Declan Rice.

Tchouameni is the current teammate of Cesc Fabregas, who played for Chelsea between 2014 and 2019. After spending three seasons at FC Barcelona, Fabregas switched to the Blues ahead of the 2014-15 season. The 2021-22 campaign will be Fabregas' fifth term with Ligue 1 club Monaco.

Backing his young teammate Tchouameni to do well in the coming years, Fabregas said in a recent interview, "He has the potential to be the complete midfielder. He’s a modern midfield player."

After rising through the youth rank of club Bordeaux, Tchouameni made his first-team debut with the Ligue 1 club in 2018. In as many as 37 competitive appearances for Bordeaux across two full seasons, Tchouameni netted one goal and one assist. That turned out to be enough to earn attention as the young midfielder was roped in by Monaco on a four-and-a-half-year deal during the 2020 January transfer window.

So far, Tchouameni has represented Monaco 48 times, across all competitions and has scored four goals and provided four assists. Even before making his debut for France's first team, Tchouameni has several top European clubs chasing him, including Chelsea in the underway summer window. Tchouameni's current market value is around $34 million, according to Transfermarkt.

Having won the Champions League last season and the 2021 Super Cup earlier this week, Chelsea are still looking to strengthen the side. After making Erling Haaland their top target in the 2021 window, the Stamford Bride side ended up re-signing Lukaku.

Back in 2011, Lukaku had started his Premier League career with Chelsea. Unfortunately, the partnership did not flourish and the Blues had offloaded the Belgian playmaker to Everton. Lukaku excelled at the Merseyside club, scoring 87 goals in 168 competitive appearances. That led to his move to the Theatre of Dreams.

Manchester United paid $104 million to secure Lukaku on a five-year contract in 2017. But Lukaku lasted just two seasons at Old Trafford. He netted 42 goals in 98 matches before making his way to Italy, where he helped Inter Milan win their first Serie A title since 2010.

Following a successful yet short stint at San Siro Stadium, Lukaku is returning to London to finish his unfinished business at Chelsea with the 2021-22 Premier League season going underway this weekend.