Watch: Fabrizio Romano spells out Chelsea’s next defensive targets

Chelsea have moved swiftly to sign Napoli and Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly to reinforce their centre-back options but, according to Fabrizio Romano, they are planning to sign at least two more including PSG’s Presnel Kimpembe and Nathan Ake of Manchester City.

The Blues lost Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen to Barcelona this summer – both on free transfers – leaving Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah and Malang Sarr as the only senior centre-backs in Thomas Tuchel’s squad.

And there are persistent rumours that the long-serving Cesar Azpilicueta will also move to Barcelona during the transfer window, leaving Chelsea desperately short of defenders.

But Tuchel has moved quickly to secure the signing of Koulibaly for a fee believed to be around £34million – and that won’t be the last defensive signing this summer, according to Romano.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the renowned journalist said: “It’s a here we go for Koulibaly to Chelsea, he’s having his medical and will sign all the contracts in the coming hours before flying to Los Angeles with the team.

“It means, for De Ligt, the feeling for Chelsea is that he’s getting closer to joining Bayern Munich. But Chelsea still want two more centre-backs.

“Negotiations are ongoing with Manchester City for Nathan Ake and are progressing very well. City want around £40million for Ake and the player has a full agreement with Chelsea on personal terms.

“The same applies to Presnel Kimpembe. PSG would be open to letting him go, even though he’s an important player for their project, if the right offer came in.

“And now there is a negotiation between Chelsea and PSG for Kimpembe. No fee has been agreed but Kimpembe is close to joining Chelsea alongside Koulibaly and Ake.”

Romano also warned of the consequences these signings will have on the future of Levi Colwill, the Chelsea academy product who impressed at Huddersfield last season.

“The player wants regular game time,” the transfer guru added. “If Chelsea sign these three quality centre-backs, then there’s a possibility that Colwill could leave the club on a permanent basis – and many Premier League clubs would be interested in him.”

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