Chelsea failed with an €85 million (£72.5m) offer to sign Paris Saint-Germain central defender Marquinhos last summer, according to reports in France.
The Blues were keen to sign a new centre-back in the summer and were close to getting Jules Kounde before Sevilla raised their asking price in the closing stages of the transfer window.
Chelsea had already signed Thiago Silva on a free transfer from PSG a few months before Thomas Tuchel’s arrival at the club in January.
And according to L’Equipe, Tuchel was keen on reuniting his two Brazilian players as he personally endorsed Chelsea’s move for Marquinhos in the summer.
The report claims that Chelsea’s proposal reached €85m (£72.5m) but the Ligue 1 side refused to entertain offers for the Brazil international and said that he was not for sale.
Chelsea were handed an unexpected boost this campaign with the emergence of Trevoh Chalobah but they are still facing the prospect of undergoing a defensive shake-up as Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva and Andreas Christensen all see their contracts expire at the end of the season.
Tuchel has already made it clear that he is a huge admirer of Marquinhos after working with the players at PSG.
‘Marquinhos is the heart and soul of our team,’ Tuchel said last year. ‘That’s why he must play at the heart of the action, but also because he’s talented.
‘He has all the qualities to play in midfield, and has a worker’s mentality. He can help the defenders and the forwards at the same time. It’s important that he’s close to everybody as he’s the boss.
‘Marqui covers more ground than anybody else in the team and is valuable in the counter-pressing.
‘If Marqui needs to play at the back, then he will, but he has proven his ability in midfield. ‘He can really push the team to its best level.’
