Exclusive: Ligue 1 expert names which one of French trio is most likely to seal Chelsea transfer
Chelsea have been linked with some big names in recent months as the club’s ambitious spending could be set to continue, and CaughtOffside columnist Jonathan Johnson has looked into the transfer rumours linking the Blues with three French midfielders.
Chelsea already have a pretty bloated squad, so will most likely need to trim that down a bit this summer, but that doesn’t mean there won’t also be some new faces coming in.
The west London giants seem keen to scour the world for the best young talent available, and so it isn’t too surprising to see that they apparently have an interest in youthful French duo Khephren Thuram and Manu Kone, of Nice and Borussia Monchengladbach, respectively.
They’ve also been linked with the more experienced Adrien Rabiot as well, however, and Johnson expects that could be the more likely move as he’s nearing the end of his contract at Juventus.
Another issue with Thuram and Kone is that they won’t want their next move to be to a club without European football, and where they might not play regularly.
“We’ve seen Chelsea linked with three French midfield players in the form of Adrien Rabiot, Manu Kone, and Khephren Thuram ahead of this summer, and we’re certainly getting used to them being linked with almost every player on the market under Todd Boehly, but how much is there to these claims?” Johnson wrote.
“I can’t confirm the interest from Chelsea in all of them, but we know Rabiot is set to become a free agent this summer, so it could potentially happen. The big question-mark with Chelsea is about how they make space for these players – a lot of their targets will be aware that the Blues currently have a massively bloated squad and that a lot of the signings they’ve brought in recently haven’t featured heavily since their moves.
“With top young talents like Kone and Thuram, who are looking for European football and who are likely to have other clubs in for them, it doesn’t really make sense for them to jump to a club like Chelsea, where playing time isn’t guaranteed and where there won’t be the chance to play in Europe next season.
“When you think that Kone could also have interest from PSG and Thuram’s being looked at by Liverpool and Newcastle, these would probably represent better moves for them to continue their progression.
“For Rabiot it maybe wouldn’t matter as much, so he might be the most realistic of those options for Chelsea, because he’s firmly established in Didier Deschamps’ plans, whereas Kone and Thuram are just breaking through now, so need to keep on playing at the highest level in order to make their mark. So while Chelsea interest in all three players is understandable, I think Rabiot looks like the more likely to make that kind of move at this moment in time.”
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