Blues eye RECORD deal as Liverpool prepare £100m HIJACK
Chelsea offered Kudus swap deal
Chelsea have been offered the chance to sign Mohammed Kudus from West Ham this summer in a move that could involve a swap deal for one of their own players.
Kudus has a release clause of £85 million in his contract and an exit from West Ham is considered a possibility this summer, with teams from the Saudi Pro League said to be interested.
According to Ben Jacobs, the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Robert Sanchez were discussed as names of potential interest to West Ham, although they are not thought to be players Chelsea are currently seeking to offload unless they ask to leave.
While Chelsea do hold an interest in Kudus, talks between them and West Ham were described by Jacobs as ‘discussions rather than negotiations’, with no move being lined up at this stage.
Maignan demands Chelsea transfer
Chelsea hopes of signing Mike Maignan have been handed a significant boost after the goalkeeper told Milan that he wanted to leave and make the move to Stamford Bridge this summer.
The Blues opened negotiations with Milan over a transfer this week, however Chelsea failed to come close to the Italian side’s valuation of €30 million for their number one, instead offering closer to €10m due to the 29-year-old’s age and with just 12 months remaining on his contract
With Milan also failing to qualify for Europe this season, the Serie A giants are not thought to be in a strong negotiating position, particularly amid reports that Maignan is demanding to leave and join Chelsea this summer.
Chelsea are keen to wrap up a quick deal ahead of this month’s Club World Cup and, while there is still no guarantee a deal is done, the Premier League side see Maignan as a priority and will push for his signature.
Chelsea target record transfer for wonderkid
Chelsea are reportedly in talks to sign Bright Ede, an 18-year-old defender from Polish side Motor Lublin in a move that could break the Ekstraklasa transfer record.
Reports in Poland have claimed that the transfer is getting ‘serious’ amid strong Premier League interest in the youngster, who made his first team debut earlier this season.
Chelsea are said to have entered talks over a transfer after their Europa Conference League final, with a deal worth as much as €11m being lined up in the coming weeks.
Ede, however, would likely join Strasbourg first as part of the BlueCo multi-club ownership and a deal could be wrapped up quickly to avoid further interest in the player.
Liverpool eye Ekitike hijack
Chelsea’s move for Hugo Ekitike could be hijacked by Liverpool despite the Frankfurt forward closing in on a verbal agreement to sign for the Blues.
A move costing as much as €100m is being discussed for the Frenchman, although there is no indication that Chelsea would be willing to pay that much or that a deal can be agreed.
Instead, reports from Germany claim that Ekitike’s representatives have held positive talks with Liverpool over a transfer, with Arne Slot said to ‘think highly’ of the 22-year-old