Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted that his side are unlikely to be able to bring Robert Lewandowski to the club from Bayern Munich this summer.
The 33-year-old has confirmed that he wants to leave the Bundesliga champions after a trophy and goal-laden eight-year spell at the Allianz Arena.
However, club chiefs in Bavaria have repeatedly ruled out the prospect of Lewandowski leaving Bayern, even though he is out of contract in under 12 months' time.
Barcelona have long been considered the frontrunners to sign the Poland international, who will be able to leave Bayern on a free transfer in 2023 as things stand.
Should a proposed switch to La Blaugrana fall through, Lewandowski is said to be open to a move to Chelsea in order to fulfil his desire of playing in the Premier League.
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Blues boss Tuchel has affirmed that he would not turn down the chance to sign Lewandowski if the opportunity arose, but the German is content with his options in the final third.
"I don't think we have a chance for Lewandowski but if there is a chance... he is one of the best No9s," the Evening Standard quotes Tuchel as saying.
"It does not make sense that I comment about players from other teams and I will not start doing it. Of course, there are top No9s out there. But we are happy with what we have at the moment. The priority is not on the No9 position right now.
"We have our top priority [Sterling], we have got our top priority signed. It makes me very, very happy and from there we are very flexible. Our goal threat should be enough right now.
"If we think something crazy comes up that we don't see, maybe we will get involved, maybe not. But the priority is not there now."
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Lewandowski hit another 50 goals in 46 appearances across all tournaments for Bayern last season, taking his total for the club to 344 strikes in 375 matches since 2014.
The Blues have allowed Romelu Lukaku to complete his desired return to Inter Milan on loan, while the futures of Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic are also up in the air.
Chelsea have now secured the signature of Raheem Sterling on a £47.5m deal from Manchester City, while Armando Broja will be aiming to impress Tuchel in pre-season.
However, Chelsea have conceded defeat in the race for Raphinha, whose move to Barcelona from Leeds United was confirmed on Friday afternoon.
In the defensive third, Chelsea are expected to confirm the arrival of Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli in the coming days, which could potentially see the club drop their interest in Matthijs de Ligt.
Bayern are confirmed to be in talks over a move for the Juventus centre-back and could therefore soften their stance on Lewandowski should they seek to raise funds for De Ligt's transfer.
Ben Knapton
