Maurizio Sarri has already decided he wants to bolster his attacking options in the next transfer window, with the new Chelsea manager an admirer of Nabil Fekir and Christian Pulisic.
After replacing Antonio Conte with former Napoli boss Sarri, Chelsea completed deals for four players this summer – Jorginho, Rob Green, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Mateo Kovacic. The Blues kick-started their new season with a 3-0 victory over Huddersfield Town, with N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Pedro on target at the Kirklees Stadium.
Despite Chelsea’s promising start to the 2018-19 campaign, Sarri has already signalled that he wants to sign some attacking players in the coming months and Fekir and Pulisic have emerged as targets, according to Goal.
France international Fekir was on the verge of joining Liverpool earlier in the summer and even had a medical with the Premier League club before the deal collapsed. Chelsea were linked with a move for the 25-year-old and Goal say contact was made with Lyon before Sarri pulled the plug on the deal for the time being. Fekir could be looked at again by Chelsea when the January transfer window opens, and the west London outfit have also expressed interest in the United States star Christian Pulisic.
Both Chelsea and Liverpool weighed up offers for Pulisic, 19, but he remained at Borussia Dortmund when the English transfer window closed last week. Sarri has an abundance of options on the wing – particularly as Eden Hazard decided to stay after being linked with Real Madrid – but will look to strengthen his options in the centre and Fekir and Pulisic both fit the bill.
After Chelsea put three goals past Huddersfield in their first game of the new season, Sarri admitted there are two areas the side must improve going forward.
‘We have to improve to defend in the other half, to press against three defenders,’ he said. ‘We have to move the ball faster. We did it better in the second, there was more space and time.
‘It was a really hard for us. We were not ready to their situation, for us it was a problem. This team has not the experience against, maybe for the Naples it was not a problem. ‘For Chelsea some players have only just arrived. We are lucky now because we can work with one match a week. ‘We have to improve in this month, then it might be difficult with the national teams. I hope in this month to improve the team. ‘The difference from the physical it is different. I am very happy because in the first part of the season for us it is not easy to gain points.