Chelsea continue to be busy in the summer transfer window and the club looks set to keep chasing targets right up to deadline day.
Todd Boehly’s new regime has already backed manager Thomas Tuchel heartily with the signings of Marc Cucurella, Kalidou Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling, while promising youngsters Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei and Gabriel Slonina have been secured on permanent deals, too.
With a list of leavers including Romelu Lukaku, Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner, though, Tuchel is looking to further replenish his squad, targeting a number of familiar Premier League faces in a bid to mount a genuine title challenge.
With both Lukaku and Werner out the door, Chelsea find themselves in a peculiar position of lacking true centre-forward options, with Broja entirely unproven at the club and Kai Havertz a different type of forward option. Might a return to London for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang therefore make sense?
The Gabonese striker left Arsenal after being stripped of the captaincy earlier this year but enjoyed a productive half-season at Barcelona. The arrival of Robert Lewandowski has pushed Aubameyang down the pecking order, though, and Barcelona have reportedly set their price in discussions with Chelsea.
The departures of Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Malang Sarr mean that despite the signing of Koulibaly, Chelsea are in a need of another centre-half. The London club’s chief target appears to be Wesley Fofana, with Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers confirming that they had rejected a reported third bid from Chelsea for the Frenchman after leaving him out of the matchday squad for his side’s defeat to Southampton.
“There was an offer gone in and it’s been been rejected,” Rodgers said, before confirming that Fofana’s exclusion from the squad was due to him failing to turn up to training in the lead-up to the Southampton fixture.
Rodgers continued: “He’s training with the under-23s so he can get his football fitness and keep working. It’s so important at this stage to control any sort of distractions that may be there.”
Chelsea are expected to further test Leicester’s resolve to hold on to the 21-year-old with an improved offer before the two clubs meet in Premier League action this weekend.
Chelsea have been linked with a shock move for Manchester United and England defender Harry Maguire. The centre-back looks like he will have a fight on his hands this season for a place in Erik ten Hag’s team, though playing his way into Tuchel’s line-up may not be any easier.
Even so, the Evening Standard claims Maguire would be another option for the Blues should the Fofana deal fail to materialise. Or perhaps it is a little bit of a ploy by Chelsea to ensure Leicester don’t have all the power in their negotiations.
Also well-rated by Tuchel is Anthony Gordon, the young Everton winger who has emerged as a surprise high-ticket target for Chelsea having previously been linked with Newcastle and Tottenham. The Independent’s Richard Jolly reports that Gordon has informed his Frank Lampard that he wishes to leave Goodison Park despite having signed a five-year deal at the club in 2020.
Jolly also suggests that Everton’s interest in Chelsea striker Armando Broja could factor in to negotiations over a deal for Gordon. The Albania international spent last season on loan at Southampton.
One young winger in, one young winger out? With Chelsea hot in pursuit of Gordon, Callum Hudson-Odoi appears set to leave the club, with a loan to Bayer Leverkusen seemingly close despite plenty of interest from other clubs.
The club rejected significant bids from Bayern Munich for Hudson-Odoi when the 21-year-old was a teenager, but he has failed to command a regular first team place under Tuchel and will look to re-energise his career with a season in the Bundesliga.
Rafael Leao
One player who Chelsea appeared likely to miss out on was Portuguese forward Rafael Leao. The 23-year-old had been in discussions with AC Milan over a long-term contract but is yet to sign new terms with the Italian club, which may prompt Boehly to revisit his interest in the player.
The versatile Leao scored eleven times in Serie A last season.
Conor Gallagher
A breakthrough season on loan at Crystal Palace appeared to have Conor Gallagher well placed to challenge for regular minutes in Chelsea’s midfield this year, but he has begun the season a little way down the pecking order and may again be allowed to leave on loan despite N’Golo Kante’s injury.
In addition to Broja, Everton are said to be exploring the possibility of making Gallagher a part of any deal for Anthony Gordon, while interest from West Ham and Newcastle has been reported, too.
Another young player who could leave Chelsea before the close of the window is Ethan Ampadu, who could head for Serie A on a loan deal.
