Who are Chelsea linked with now, then? That’ll be the name of this column soon, the way things are going. Denzel Dumfries, the Internazionale right-back, is the latest transfer target to pop up on Todd Boehly’s radar, which is so effective that it has detected literally everything that moves for 5,000 miles around Stamford Bridge. There could be competition from Manchester United and Newcastle, however. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, it will take an offer of at least €40m (£35.2m) to get negotiations under way.
Having won the tug of war over Mykhailo Mudryk, Chelsea could become embroiled in an arm-wrestle with Arsenal over Amadou Onana. The tittle-tattle in Belgium is that the Everton midfielder has already rejected the chance to move to the Boehly Bowl, giving Arsenal a possible advantage. Mikel Arteta has already conceded that, in light of Mohamed Elneny injuring his knee, he needs more cover in the middle of the park. Onana would certainly be more affordable than Moisés Caicedo, whom Brighton now value at an eye-watering £100m. That figure rises daily.
Given they are currently second-bottom, without a manager – for now – and in a generally woeful state, Everton could do without more bad news. Unfortunately, it appears they may not get as much for Anthony Gordon as they had hoped. With the youngster missing training amid talks with Newcastle, he clearly has his heart set on a January move. Everton had placed a £55m valuation on him, but Newcastle reckon they can get him for less.
Leeds, meanwhile, are among a host of clubs interested in signing Weston McKennie from Juventus. According to Sky Italia, they are ready to pay €28m (£24.6m) plus add-ons to bring the USA midfielder under the wing of his compatriot Jesse Marsch. Juve value him at €35m (£30.8m), so there may be some haggling to do. Arsenal could still try to muscle in, with McKennie more than capable of filling the Elneny-shaped hole in Arteta’s squad.
Elsewhere, Bournemouth have apparently joined the race to sign Nicolò Zaniolo from Roma. With their move for Nicolas Jackson, the Villarreal forward, hanging in the balance owing to a hamstring injury, they are hoping to steal in ahead of Tottenham and Milan and secure a €30m (£26.4m) deal. Bournemouth have already agreed to sign Matías Viña, the Roma defender, on loan, assuming all goes well with his medical. They are also closing in on Antoine Semenyo, the Bristol City forward, who has six goals in 23 appearances in the Championship this season.
If Milan miss out on Zaniolo, they could look to sign Allan Saint-Maximin instead. Once Newcastle wrap up their move for Gordon, they may be open to offers for the mercurial winger. They would want around £26m for Saint-Maximin, though, which might put off the Serie A giants. Maybe Chelsea would be interested? Room for one more, Graham?
