Director give green light for Chelsea signing–Blues in midfielder talks–£80M transfer claim made
Sean Dyche admitted he is not surprised to see Everton star Jarrad Branthwaite continually linked with rival Premier League clubs, with reports that CHELSEA are still interested in a deal for the star.
Branthwaite emerged as a top target for Manchester United and Chelsea last summer after an impressive Premier League campaign which almost saw the centre-back make England’s final 26-man squad for Euro 2024.
And Dyche insisted that Branthwaite remains happy at the club but is not surprised that we are still interested in a potential deal – he said: ‘I think I said in the summer that any player, it’s a worldwide market now, it’s not just about one player,’ he said at a press conference on Thursday.
‘The way the game changed, certainly in Europe, the transfer situation has opened up. It’s not a surprise good players are linked with other clubs. I said in the summer he’ll be staying here and he is so that’s good.’
Asked about how the pending takeover could affect the sale of Branthwaite, Dyche replied: ‘The club has a situation it is still looking upon. If new ownership goes through, that might change things financially but we don’t know that yet. We’ll just have to wait and see.
‘I didn’t really speak to him about it [interest from United in the summer], he’s still here. I’m not going to sit there and chat endlessly about stories in the paper which 99 per cent are not true so there’s no point.
‘He seems fine other than being injured, which has been a blow to him, he’s been fine.’
LAVIA REPLACEMENT TALKS –
CHELSEA are looking at signing an immediate replacement for Romeo Lavia – and have reportedly opened talks to bring in another midfielder to the club in the coming transfer windows.
It is just over a year that Lavia completed a £58m move to Stamford Bridge, joining the club from relegated Southampton, as the the 20-year-old put pen to paper on a staggering seven-year contract.
But his time at Stamford Bridge has simply not worked out and he has spent alot more time trying to get fit than he has playing in that midfield – which has led to alot of speculation about his long-term future at the Blues.
Now – According to Tuttomercatoweb, we now have their eyes on Hellas Verona’s Reda Belahyane. The report says that club scouts were in attendance for Friday night’s 2-1 win over Venezia.
Belahyane’s idol is former star N’Golo Kante, who he tries to base his game off. He has become a key player for the Serie A side since moving from Nice back in January.
Theo Walcott recently claimed that the former Southampton team-mate Romeo Lavia should have joined Liverpool instead of us: ‘He’s a very talented footballer,’ Walcott said on BBC Radio 5 Live. ‘He trained his heart out, probably trained too much. He had a serious injury and obviously missed a whole year.
‘There were talks of him going to CHELSEA or Liverpool, and I thought, right, as a player, this is perfect.
‘Liverpool would be the perfect club for right now because the midfield was rebuilding at that particular time. Players can, of course, make their choice, but as a career path, he’s stagnated a little bit.
‘The new manager [Maresca] has come in, he’s brought in Dewsbury-Hall, you’ve got Conor Gallagher – similar players to some extent.
‘With the number of players they are signing, good players just won’t get a chance. They just won’t be seen at Chelsea.
‘They’ll be sent out on loan to lower league clubs and not appear. I am worried Romeo Lavia will just be one of those Chelsea players that will just be gone, and you won’t hear much about.’
CHELSEA FREE TO SIGN MARMOUSH
Eintracht Frankfurt director of football Markus Krosche has opened the door to the potential sale of Omar Marmoush in the January transfer window, which will alert the likes of CHELSEA to a possible deal.
Marmoush has six goals and three assists in just five Bundesliga games so far this term and is drawing all sorts of attention from some of the biggest teams in the Premier League, – who are always looking to add to their squad.
We have one of the biggest squads in Europe – but with a number of players expected to leave in the coming windows – there will be some space for the likes of Marmoosh to come in and try to make an impact in that Enzo Maresca side.
Now it seems that they may be able to get a deal done in the January window after Director of football Krosche admitted that the striker has a big commitment to the Bundesliga club, but also acknowledged that no player at the club is unsellable amid rumours that Marmoush is dreaming of a move to England.
Speaking to German media, Krosche said: “It is true that Omar made a very clear commitment to us in the summer. He has developed well and still has a lot of potential to develop further.
“For us, we don’t want to lose so many key players. I have to honestly say that no Eintracht player is unsellable but we want to keep the team together. I talk about Marmoush after every game. But that’s a good thing. Omar gives our game an incredible amount.”