Your Chelsea morning transfer round-up on Monday, August 29.
Barcelona make double Chelsea transfer hint
The futures of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Frenkie De Jong remain hot topics as the transfer deadline approaches with Chelsea heavily linked with both Barcelona stars.
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Both club-record signing Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner were moved on in an attempt to refresh forward areas, leaving Thomas Tuchel without the presence of a natural centre-forward, something Aubameyang's arrival would solve.
Football.london understood that Chelsea were initially 'very confident' about agreeing to a £22million whole package deal for the 33-year-old before Todd Boehly's insistence on including Marcos Alonso in the deal coupled with personal terms problems on contract length have resulted in a hold-up which is set to take this deal to deadline day.
Meanwhile, Mateo Kovacic and N'Golo Kante's injury-prone status combined with Connor Gallagher's disappointing start to the campaign mean the addition of a midfielder is somewhat a necessity.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Ramano suggested Chelsea will make a late attempt to secure De Jong's signature by telling CaughtOffside: "My feeling is that it is Chelsea who are really pushing for him [Frenkie De Jong]."
However, one telling hint to suggest that nothing is close on either deal has been Xavi's decision to include the duo in the squad for the Rayo Valladolid La Liga fixture this Sunday.
Rodgers remains coy on Fofana move
Following their 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers refused to give much away about Wesley Fofana's potential move to Chelsea.
The French defender has been omitted from the Foxes' first team since he seemingly bid farewell to the travelling Leicester fans at the Emirates Stadium.
football.london understands that the two clubs have reached an agreement over the signing of Fofana in a deal which could become a world-record fee. It's said that the Blues returned with a fourth bid this week worth a guaranteed £70million, with further add-ons seeing the transfer exceed £80million
Despite strong speculation, Rodgers simply claimed: "If there is anything I'm sure the club will announce it," before admitting it has been a "very difficult, challenging window" for the club.
Tuchel rejected Ronaldo move after Rangnick discussions
According to the Times, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel turned down the opportunity to sign Cristiano Ronaldo following talks with former Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick.
Ronaldo has reportedly told United he wants to leave earlier this summer in search of Champions League football and has had to settle for a place on the bench in three of the Red Devils' opening four fixtures.
The same article claims that Blues owner Todd Boehly pushed for the signing of the 37-year-old as he liked the idea of building the attack around him.
Yet, Tuchel opposed the transfer on the advice of close friend Rangnick, who criticised Ronaldo's pressing capabilities in May.
The 64-year-old claimed: "He's (Ronaldo) not a pressing monster. He's not a player, even when he was a young player, who was crying, shouting "hooray, the other team has got the ball, where can we win balls?
"The same with quite a few other players so we had to make some compromises at one stage, maybe we made a few too many - that's also possible."
Arsenal icon sends Anthony Gordon transfer message following Chelsea links
Ian Wright has urged Everton to stand firm and keep Anthony Gordon in the last week of the transfer window as Chelsea awaits a response to their £60million offer.
The Blues are in the process of trying to sign another winger with four days remaining in this summer's transfer window. With both or at least one of Hakim Ziyech or Callum Hudson-Odoi expected to seal moves elsewhere, a wide player is high on the agenda of the new owner and interim sporting director Todd Boehly.
football.london understands that the latest offer of £60m, despite being seen positively by the Toffees, could still be rejected because Frank Lampard and Co. have little time left to source a replacement
Gordon himself has dropped multiple hints that he wants this exit, and he's even gone as far as to inform the club of his wishes to leave Goodison Park for Stamford Bridge, The Athletic understands.
Following Everton's 1-1 draw against Brentford, in which Gordon netted the opener, Wright said on BBC Match of the Day: "[His goal] probably should make Everton more determined to keep him.
READ NEXT :
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