Chelsea join hunt for former Manchester United target as Florian Wirtz makes transfer decision



Here is your Chelsea morning digest on Thursday, September 30.

Chelsea eye Pau Torres

Chelsea were eager to bring in another centre-back during the summer transfer window but a deal for Sevilla’s Jules Kounde fell through, leaving them slightly short at the back.

With Kurt Zouma, Marc Guehi and Fikayo Tomori all securing permanent moves away, Thomas Tuchel is expected to continue that pursuit in January.

Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres has been added to the list of potential targets the Blues could move for, according to 90 min.

The 24-year-old remains one of the most highly-rated defenders in Europe and was part of the Spain side that made it to the semi-finals of Euro 2020.

He was the subject of intense speculation linking him to Manchester United over the summer, though they eventually signed Raphael Varane from Real Madrid.

Wirtz update

While we’re on the topic of transfers, an update has emerged on another Chelsea target in the form of Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.

The 18-year-old has scored four goals in five appearances in the Bundesliga this season and also contributed four assists, attracting the attention of Bayern Munich and Arsenal as well.

Were he to move to Stamford Bridge, he would follow in the path of Kai Havertz who was signed from the Bay Arena in 2020 for £62 million.

But Wirtz’s agent and dad has dismissed rumours of an imminent transfer, insisting that the player wants to remain with Leverkusen for a further two seasons.

Read the full story here.

Chiellini backs Jorginho for Ballon d’Or

Chelsea and Juventus clashed in the Champions League last night but in the build up, Juventus and Italy captain Giorgio Chiellini backed Jorginho to win the 2021 Ballon d’Or.

“Well I truly hope that he will be able to win it,” Chiellini told his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

“He is a good friend of mine. It is also an award that I feel is mine being an Italian and as a player that was involved in a win and in emotions that will always be in our hearts.

“I’ve always thought Jorginho is a good player well after two or three training sessions in the national team, two or three years ago. I realised how good he is and what a top player he really is because he maybe doesn’t have great physical qualities but the real difference lies in his head and in his mentality.”

Read the full story here.





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