Tuchel explains why Chelsea drop points against Brighton, Chelsea eye move for £34m Porto midfielder, as Blues leading race to sign Uruguayan player
Chelsea were held to a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Tuesday night by Brighton and Hove Albion. Manager Thomas Tuchel has hinted that the players were affected by the Super League issues, resulting in them not performing at their best.
Twelve European clubs formed a new breakaway league that was set to be played instead of the Champions League. Fans worldwide were unhappy with the move and forced the six Premier League sides involved to withdraw their support.
Chelsea are back in the Premier League top 4 with the draw, but only on goal difference. They are level on points with 5th placed West ham United and could have gone above 3rd placed Leicester City with a win.
Thomas Tuchel believes his players were affected by the Super League mess. He said:
“We talk of nothing else but Super League before the match. I was affected so I think the players were affected. The situation was not clear. I was informed like you were informed. You have to accept the distraction. We tried to create an atmosphere to win the game but could not. We looked mentally tired.”
Chelsea eyeing move for prolific Porto midfield star
Chelsea are allegedly keen to sign Porto star Jesus Corona in the early stages of this summer’s transfer market.
The 28-year-old Mexican has been in impressive form for his Portuguese side during the 2020-21 campaign, netting three times and contributing 11 assists in 40 appearances across all competitions.
Corona’s existing contract with Porto is due to expire next year, and there is believed to be a £21m buy-out clause in the agreement.
The release fee is only thought to be active until June, though, and according to a recent report from O Jogo, Chelsea are keen to bring the player to Stamford Bridge.
The report adds that the release clause rises to £34 million beyond June, meaning that Thomas Tuchel’s team face a race against the clock when the market opens to acquire his services.
Jesus – a 45-time Mexico international – has largely operated as a right-sided midfielder this campaign but is also capable of playing as a right-back.
Elsewhere, Juventus are allegedly keen to strengthen their squad with the signing of Manchester City forward and Chelsea target Sergio Aguero.
The Argentina attacker has just over three months left to run on his existing deal at the Etihad Stadium, and there is a growing feeling that he’ll end his 10-year association with the Citizens in the summer.
Chelsea leading race to sign 20-year-old Uruguayan striker
Inter Milan striker Martin Satriano seems to be a man in high demand as three PL heavyweights in Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City are lining up to sign him in the summer. The 20-year-old striker came through the youth ranks at Club Nacional in his homeland of Uruguay before making the switch to the Nerazzurri in winter 2020.
Martin has been playing for Inter Milan’s Primavera outfit ever since, racking up 22 appearances, in which he has produced a return of nine goals and four assists. Satriano has made it to the matchday squad for the Nerazzurri senior team on three occasions this term.
However, the Uruguayan centre-forward is yet to make his debut for Antonio Conte’s side. Nevertheless, his exploits with the reserves have been enough for several teams to take note of his skills and line up a summer move. And among those interested are the Blues, Gunners as well as Cityzens.
As for Chelsea, the Blues, too, will need to add depth to their attacking unit in the summer as Olivier Giroud will be out of contract at the end of the campaign while Tammy Abraham is also considering his future after dropping down the pecking order.
Even though the Blues are vying to sign Erling Haaland, adding Martin would ensure that they have enough cover in the squad, even if they sign Haaland and retain Timo Werner. Apart from the aforementioned trio of PL teams, PSG and RB Leipzig are closely following the development of Martin. Inter Milan, for their part, see him as someone with a bright future at the club.