Your Chelsea transfer round-up for Saturday, December 31.
Bellingham turns Chelsea down
Frank Lampard failed to sign Jude Bellingham for Chelsea in 2020 as the Blues now chase the midfield for a much larger fee next summer.
The England star was one of the top performers at the World Cup and only elevated his already lofty standing within the game ahead of an expected big money move in 2023.
Had Chelsea secured a deal two years ago they would have saved a lot of time and effort though, with former Birmingham chief Dong Ren telling The Times: "He went to Stamford Bridge to have a meeting with Chelsea. He met with [former director] Marina Granovskaia in person. They had a meeting organised by [then manager] Frank Lampard. He told him his plan for him but he didn’t convince him.
READ MORE: Jude Bellingham turned down Chelsea transfer as Todd Boehly looks to fix Frank Lampard mistake
"Just before the final three games of the season, he decided to go to Dortmund."
Read the full story, here.
Fernandez signs
With two senior players out of contract in the summer and an absence of permanent replacements of physicality in front of the defence Chelsea are desperate to sign Enzo Fernandez.
The 21-year-old has a massive £105m release clause but Todd Boehly is willing to dip into the transfer kitty to secure his signature next month.
In a dream scenario Chelsea could then have him lining up alongside World Cup semi-finalist Mateo Kovacic as well as Mason Mount or Denis Zakaria.
Read the full story, here.
Mac Allister back-up
If Fernandez isn't a deal that can be done then Chelsea will pursue Brighton pair Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister, according to the Times.
The latter was a teammate of Fernadez during the World Cup and helped his country to victory with a brilliant performance in the final showing his ability on the highest level.
Chelsea already have history with the Seagulls after signing Marc Cucurella as well as the moves for Paul Winstanley and the backroom staff with Graham Potter.
Read the full story, here.
READ NEXT:
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Todd Boehly eyes Enzo Fernandez Chelsea deal with repeat of Christopher Nkunku transfer trick
Enzo Fernandez signs, Mateo Kovacic return: Graham Potter's dream Chelsea midfield after January
Cristiano Ronaldo to Chelsea transfer: Al-Nassr signing date, £176m deal, 'agreement' reached
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