Chelsea are stepping up their activity in the summer market as they enter one transfer battle after another.
Boss Thomas Tuchel and the club’s new American owner Todd Boehly, having seemingly secured Raheem Sterling from Manchester City in a £50million deal, are now in the thick of a scrap with Manchester United.
Not only are do the Blues remain Cristiano Ronaldo’s only obvious destination as he attempts to dig himself out of his hole at Old Trafford but the Londoners are also being linked with a late hijack of Reds target Frenkie de Jong. Boehly made a very public trip to Barcelona on Thursday, seemingly to discuss player-plus -cash exchange deals with the Spanish club - and Dutch midfielder de Jong apparently on the agenda.
Chances are, though, that is Barca’s way of rattling the United cash till – with Chelsea happy to oblige in the scheming. After all, do Tuchel's men not have sufficient numbers in midfield and an abundance of playmakers already in their ranks – especially if Cristiano Ronaldo and Sterling are on their way.
If Tuchel truly believes they also require de Jong, where that leaves Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic, Connor Gallagher and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, to name but a few, is anybody’s guess. Crikey, even N’Golo Kante, Kai Havertz and Mason Mount may wonder if they will be automatic picks come August if that proves the case.
The good news, though, for those Chelsea fans keen to see some incoming transfer action at the back, there is plenty of ongoing talks for a whole gang of defenders. Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso would appear off to the Nou Camp and, with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen also long gone, and Ben Chilwell still to return from his cruciate injury, buying high-profile attacking talent rather than quality at the back does seem strange. Chelsea need two central defenders and maybe two full backs as well. That’s a lot of shopping in a difficult market. Here, Mirror sport take a look at the latest Chelsea transfer news and rumours.
Koulibaly question
Chelsea have been interested in Juventus star defender Matthijs de Ligt, 22, for a long time. Trouble is, so have Bayern Munich and it appears the player favours heading to Germany rather than England. Hence, according to reports on Football Italia, Chelsea are among the main clubs inquiring about the availability of Napoli ace Kalidou Koulibaly. The Senegal defender, who is also wanted by Juve, wants to leave and, with his contract up at the end next season, Chelsea are front-runners to sign him for around £35m.
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Ake still on for £50m return
Nathan Ake, rejected by Chelsea this time last year, is now poised to follow Sterling from City to Stamford Bridge. The English Champions will accept an offer of £45m for the Dutch defender, whose first spell with the Blues never took off before he eventually left for Bournemouth. According to Sports Mole, via The Times, talks over re-signing Ake are at an advanced stage between all parties.
Pulisic perfect for Juventus
Amid all the proposed acquisitions, Chelsea need to off load and Christian Pulisic would be the ideal fit for Juventus. That’s the message from legendary Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini, now plying his career in the MLS at Los Angeles FC. The Italian, 37, told ESPN Futbol that Pulisic could be a ‘fantastic third winger’ for Juventus should he link up with Federico Chiesa and Angel Di Maria in Turin.
