8am: Chelsea to submit £50m bid for striker after Haaland deals fail, as Winger opens up and announces ‘Chelsea move the right transfer decision to make’
According to latest reports, CHELSEA will swoop to prise Robert Lewandowski away from Bayern Munich in a £50million deal.
The Blues have tried in vain to persuade Borussia Dortmund to accept a players-plus-cash deal for £150m-rated hotshot Erling Haaland.
That has forced the European champions to revive their interest in record-breaking Lewandowski as they try to give boss Thomas Tuchel the prolific goalscorer he wants.
But Chelsea face a fight on their hands to bring Bayern to the negotiating table for the Poland international. The German champions want Lewandowski, 32, to sign an extension to his current deal, which does not expire until 2023.
He broke Gerd Muller’s longstanding record for Bundesliga goals in a season by notching his 41st in the last minute of the final game of last season. But Lewandowski is keen for one last adventure before his illustrious career ends and would relish a move to the Premier League.
Chelsea head coach Tuchel now regards the Pole as his best option in a tricky transfer market.
Tuchel watched Hakim Ziyech score a hat-trick as Chelsea kicked off pre-season with a 6-1 thrashing of Peterborough at their Cobham training HQ.
The Blues, who finally sold Olivier Giroud to AC Milan yesterday, included forgotten man Danny Drinkwater in their side as well as the likes of Ross Barkley, Christian Pulisic, Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Winger opens up and announces ‘Chelsea move the right transfer decision to make’
Winger Christian Atsu has defender his decision to sign for Chelsea way back in 2013
Regarded as one of the most exciting talents in world football back in 2013, Atsu was signed by the club in hope that he could develop into the next best winger in world football
But The 29-year-old, currently out of contract after four years at Newcastle United, did not make a competitive appearance for us during his time at the club amid stiff competition for places.
It has been a career move that could have cost seeing his best football, but despite that fact, he has no doubts it was the correct move for his career: ‘If someone tells me this road is wrong, they must know what would have happened if I’d stayed at Porto,’ he told the Athletic.
‘Would I be at a big European club now? Maybe, but nobody can tell me that for certain. If Chelsea want to sign you, how can you say no?
‘I believed I could make it at Chelsea so I went there. It didn’t happen but that does not make it a bad move.’
The Ghana international is now looking for his next move, which is likely to be outside of England.
‘I am weighing up my options,’ he added. ‘I would prefer it to be warm weather but we’ll see. I’ve loved being in England and I have offers from here but I think I need to move away.’
Look, Atsu had alot of talent that could have seen him become a top-level player, so it is a shame that such a gifted player made the wrong decision too early, was tempted by money, and has seen his future head in a direction that many people didnt anticipate