Chelsea are very keen on signing a former Man City player, and it is believed he’s now considering a move to west London as an option.
Chelsea map out plans to bring in defender before February 3
Blues head coach Enzo Maresca is reliably reported to be chasing a new centre-back before deadline day on February 3, and this has been the idea for quite some time, even before Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile were sidelined with injuries.
Trusted club reporter Simon Phillips reported as far back as the beginning of December last year that signing another central defender is Chelsea’s top priority for January, and there are many names who’ve made their shortlist.
Benfica’s Antonio Silva and Tomas Araujo are targets at Stamford Bridge, with Bournemouth’s Illia Zabarnyi and Dean Huijsen also attracting interest from Cobham (Simon Phillips).
Chelsea’s next Premier League fixtures
Date
Bournemouth (home)
January 14
Wolverhampton Wanderers (home)
January 20
Man City (away)
January 25
West Ham (away)
February 3
Brighton (away)
February 14
Meanwhile, other media sources have claimed that Chelsea are eyeing January moves for Jules Kounde and Ronald Araujo from Barcelona, but these moves could be difficult to pull off (The Boot Room).
Depending on whether Renato Veiga pushes to leave west London in pursuit of more game time, plans to sign a new left-back could even be brought forward to this month, with PSG’s Nuno Mendes among Chelsea’s full-back targets.
Renato-Veiga-Chelsea
There’s clearly been a lot of talk in regard to Maresca’s backline, which could seriously evolve in the coming weeks. Chelsea are also actively exploring a deal to re-sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace as well, which would be quite a statement considering his exceptional last 12 months.
However, in the build up to this month, co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley also identified Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap as a top transfer target.
Credible reports suggested that Chelsea made contact with Ipswich and held discussions over signing Delap before the January window opened, and depending on Christopher Nkunku’s potential departure, it is believed that a Chelsea swoop for the 21-year-old is possible over the coming weeks (Simon Phillips).
Liam Delap “open” to joining Chelsea from Ipswich Town
According to reliable journalist Ben Jacobs, writing for GiveMeSport, the Blues have been handed a boost in their pursuit of the ex-Man City gem.
Jacobs says that Delap is now open to joining Chelsea from Ipswich, and Maresca’s side are “extremely keen” on signing the England Under-21 international who has seriously impressed under Kieran McKenna in the top flight this season.
The homegrown ace has bagged eight goals and two assists for Ipswich in all competitions thus far – which could be viewed as impressive numbers for a lower league side competing in world football’s toughest division.
Liam-Delap-Ipswich
While this move is more likely for the summer, as per Jacobs, it isn’t completely ruled out either. Delap’s rumoured price tag is set at around £42 million, and Chelsea are planning to offload a host of players to bolster their winter transfer kitty.
Cesare Casadei, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka are just some of the players who Chelsea will reportedly entertain offers for, and any of the aforementioned exits may well help to fund a mid-season move for Delap.
By Football