Chelsea want defender ‘at all costs’ – Will ‘knock on door’ in January, €50m ready for deal
Chelsea found the long-term solution for the left side of their defense when they paid a high price to get Marc Cucurella from Brighton.
However, Now that César Azpilicueta won’t be able to challenge Reece James for long, they want to do the same for the right side. Competition for the Englishman, who can also play as a centre-back in a three-man defense, would be beneficial.
That’s where Denzel Dumfries, a target of Chelsea’s during the summer transfer window, comes in, but only from next season onwards.
This is what Corriere dello Sport are reporting on Monday, claiming the Blues ‘would be ready to spend €50m’ on the Dutchman, although they would leave him at Inter until the end of the current campaign.
The Italian newspaper make it clear Chelsea ‘still have Dumfries in their sights and want to him in London at all costs’.
They know Inter ‘do not intend to sell the Dutchman in January, but during the winter window, they will still knock on the door’ to try the same deal they wanted in the summer, which is to pay for him now, but loan him back for the rest of the campaign.
It’s said Chelsea were working on such a transfer towards the back end of the window (wanting to secure him before the World Cup), but ‘they held back because the negotiations for Wesley Fofana’s arrival from Leicester had become particularly onerous’, with the Frenchman the priority at the time.
That being said, the Stamford Bridge side never went away, and the relationship between the two clubs, who have deal with each other many times in the past (Lukaku, Casadei…) ‘remains excellent’.
That’s why Chelsea want to do the same deal they had in mind last summer, but with the loan only being six months, not 12.
However, Inter know how important the World Cup could be for Dumfries, as another impressive outing at international level (remember the 2020 Euros?) from the player could help them get even more money for him.
Chelsea also have the Lukaku card up their sleeve, as despite Thomas Tuchel being gone, ‘Big Rom wants to stay in Milan and Inter are thinking of keeping him’.
They would do so by renewing the loan deal, which the Blues could use ‘as an incentive to have Dumfries in 2023-24’.
One to keep an eye on.