Raheem Sterling Not The Player Chelsea Needed? Thomas Tuchel: The Priority Right Now Is Defence, It's No Longer A Secret

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel. (Photo: Twitter @ChelseaFC)

JAKARTA - Raheem Sterling has officially joined Chelsea for the new season. But his arrival has not made Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel, believe his team can compete in the hunt for the 2022/2023 Premier League title.

Thomas Tuchel is actually happy and welcomes Sterling's arrival in the Blues squad. However, he also reminded the club to bring in players of no less quality to occupy the back line.

According to him, the defense is a priority because of the departure of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen. While on the front lines, Chelsea only lost Romelu Lukaku.

"The arrival of Raheem (Sterling) shows what we can do, it shows the ambition of the club and the owners and that's a good thing because we are here to win and compete," Tuchel told the Daily Mail.

"We like to compete and we like challenges at the top level. For that reason we also need to bring in new quality players or else we don't have a chance," he continued.

"The priority right now is defense, it's no secret. From there we see what might happen," said Tuchel.

Thomas Tuchel's question indirectly also broke the assumption that Chelsea would bring Cristiano Ronaldo. The manager seems to be happier if Chelsea's management focuses on finding defenders.

Currently, the Blues are reportedly soon bringing in Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly. In fact, the player is reported to have passed a medical test.

Apart from Koulibaly, Chelsea are also interested in Juventus defender Mathhijs de Ligt. However, the Blues have to compete with Bayern Munich who are also pursuing the services of the Dutch player.