The latest Chelsea transfer stories brought to you by football.london on Monday, July 25.
Kounde update
The longest going transfer saga has continued as there is yet another twist in Chelsea's attempts to secure Jules Kounde. Although the Blues felt confident they had done enough to secure his signing at the start of the weekend, Barcelona's apparent U-turn to prepare a bid has put this in doubt.
Fabrizio Romano took to Twitter, saying: "Barça preparing opening bid - won’t match £55m, as structure will be different. No Depay and/or Dest included. Chelsea’s £55m bid, still valid in Sevilla’s hands."
He then went on to later reveal that, "Barcelona have received indications from Jules Koundé’s camp in the last hours: the player would be prepared to accept personal terms proposal. Xavi, also called him.
"Chelsea discussed personal terms with Koundé days ago, but still no green light from Sevilla/player."
This was in contrast to the thought that Xavi's side had decided against a bid, with Si Phillips earlier saying that any Barcelona bid would fall more than £25m short of Chelsea's.
The Blues still remain confident at sealing a deal for Kounde but are also aware that the longer it continues to drag on, the more chance that something moves against them, especially with Kounde so willing to wait for a Barcelona offer.
Tuchel's claim
Chelsea's 4-0 defeat to Arsenal hit Blues fans harder than most preseason matches will as they were embarrassed in Florida. For the second time in a week Thomas Tuchel took to the press to voice his annoyance at an underperforming attack that struggled to threaten their London rivals.
Tuchel's honesty was refreshing though also worrying as he cut the figure of a man without any ideas as to how he might solve the goalscoring problems. However, the most revealing thing he said was mentioning a group of Chelsea players that want to leave the club, therefore making his preseason preparation tough.
Werner's desire
Part of the failing attack has been Werner. The German was peripheral to the match and was one of the players that Tuchel alluded to when speaking about his squad's mentality.
Werner has made his feelings public, though his decision to ambiguously say he could be happy anywhere has only resulted in more speculation regarding his future. The forward is one of more than half a dozen players that would be open to leaving the club and he has already been offered out by the club.
READ NEXT:
- Di Matteo's Tuchel admission with Koulibaly and Sterling both analysed
- Declan Rice's transfer admission as Chelsea search for £80m midfield answer
- Tuchel given £30m Broja boost as replacement Lukaku talks remain ongoing
- The £180m attacking problem that Todd Boehly must solve this summer at Chelsea
- Chelsea's own Kylian Mbappe transfer plan as Blues target Newcastle ace with £50m value
