Welcome to our football .london CareFree Chelsea daily news round-up. Maybe not the first, we’ve definitely done transfer round-ups before, and European round-ups, so I guess in some ways it’s not that new at all.
Reports have emerged suggesting Jules Kounde wasn’t the centre-back on Chelsea’s radar over the summer, with a £72.5m bid understood to have been tabled by the Blues before being swiftly rejected.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City transfer call may provide Marina Granovskaia with an unlikely solution to her £33m problem, and Kounde may not have been Chelsea’s only defensive target in the summer but that’s not to say the Blues won’t try and lure him to Stamford Bridge in the future….
Tuchel’s £72.5m PSG regret
Despite Chelsea’s well-documented pursuit of other defenders during the summer transfer window, it’s been revealed the European champions had an €85 million (£72.5m) bid to sign Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Marquinhos turned down.
L’Equipe have claimed Thomas Tuchel personally pushed for the deal in a bid to reunite with his former PSG skipper.
The report adds that, despite Chelsea’s eye-watering offer, the Ligue 1 side quickly rebuffed the proposal and said that the Brazilian defender was not for sale.
Our Take: When Tuchel arrived in January, Marquinhos became one of the early names linked with a summer move to Stamford Bridge.
Although the rumoured deal evidently didn’t materialise, the Brazil international would have been a superb addition given his leadership skills and chemistry with compatriot Thiago Silva.
Marquinhos may not be on his way to Chelsea, but Tuchel isn’t giving up on his pursuit of defensive reinforcements just yet, something we’ll explain shortly.
Pep provides £33m answer
Barcelona are reportedly eyeing up Hakim Ziyech as a ‘plan B’ option as they continue their pursuit of Manchester City forward Ferran Torres.
Barca are pushing for the Ferran deal to be completed in early 2022 according to Fabrizio Romano. Personal terms are understood to have been agreed but the move is still yet to be finalised, meaning Ziyech could yet be heading for the Stamford Bridge exit door should the Ferran deal collapse.
Our Take: For all of Ziyech’s clear talent it’s hard to make the case that his time at Chelsea so far has been an overwhelming success. His form since arriving from Ajax has been inconsistent, albeit with clear injury woes to contend with.
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Granovskaia could yet be handed a swift resolution to her £33m headache and I don’t think many supporters would see Ziyech’s exit as a massive shock.
Operation Kounde
Chelsea are expected to make another attempt to sign Kounde from Sevilla either in January or the summer.
According to The Athletic, Tuchel is aiming to freshen up his defensive options and the French defender appears the obvious choice after Chelsea’s pursuit of him last summer.
Personal terms were reportedly agreed with Kounde until Sevilla bumped up the price of their 23-year-old, causing Granovskaia to halt negotiations, leading to the deal being called off on deadline day.
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Our Take: It is no surprise Kounde is still a major target for Chelsea. Even with the summer failure to sign him, it is clear the club have been interested in him for several years.
Defensive contract issues continue to loom over some of Chelsea’s defenders and Kounde would add some quality to the Blues’ backline should said issues fail to be resolved.
A January move for Kounde could offer Tuchel some respite from the constant doubt over his defensive options next season.
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