Chelsea face a race against time to avoid a potential crisis next summer, when four of their senior defenders could all depart the club for nothing.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are all set to be out of contract next summer, meaning that they could sign a pre-contract agreement with any foreign side in January.
That could spell trouble for Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, whose success at the club has been built on a superb defensive record.
The quartet have made a combined 79 appearances across all competitions so far this season, and exits for all four players would signal serious trouble for Tuchel.
With that in mind, the club have been linked with several central defenders, including Jules Kounde, who looked likely to join the Blues in the summer but a move never materialised.
Now, it has also been revealed that the club failed in an attempt to sign Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos.
Marquinhos has been in imperious form for PSG in recent seasons
As per L’Equipe, the Premier League side made a staggering £72.5 million offer for the Brazilian, but saw it rebuffed by the French giants.
The report suggests that Tuchel was keen on reuniting Marquinhos with Silva, with the pair having played together under him at PSG, and personally encouraged the Blues’ offer for the 27-year-old.
The offer was ultimately not enough, however, and the defender is now believed to be close to agreeing a new deal to extend his stay in the French capital.
Tuchel has previously been very complimentary of the player, labelling him ‘the heart and soul of the team’ during his tenure with PSG.
Chelsea will hope to avert a crisis by agreeing new deals with the four players who are set to be out of contract, and the recent form of Trevoh Chalobah has also appeased the issue.
