Chelsea have entered the race to sign a marquee player for manager Enzo Maresca, and it is believed they've already held talks with him via agents.
The Blues are preparing to face Noah in the Conference League this evening, with a crunch clash against Premier League rivals Arsenal following soon afterwards.
In the background, BlueCo and the club's co-sporting directors - Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley - are gearing up for what will be an interesting couple of transfer windows in 2025, as Chelsea look to reshape the squad in Maresca's image.
Chelsea's next Premier League fixtures |
Date |
---|---|
Arsenal (home) |
November 10 |
Leicester City (home) |
November 23 |
Aston Villa (home) |
December 1 |
Southampton (away) |
December 4 |
Tottenham (home) |
December 8 |
There are suggestions that Chelsea could still sign a new striker in the winter, regardless of Nicolas Jackson's sensational start to the new campaign, with Ipswich Town's Liam Delap, Bayer Leverkusen's Victor Boniface and Galatasaray's Victor Osimhen among the names on their shortlist (Simon Phillips).
Despite their abundance of quality wingers, it is also believed that Chelsea have their eyes on Borussia Dortmund's Karim Adeyemi, as well as other wide attacking targets, as uncertainty surrounds the future of Mykhailo Mudryk.
The Ukraine international impressed in Chelsea's Conference League campaign lately, earning him some minutes in the Premier League as a result, but Maresca could decide to loan out Mudryk in January - according to recent reports.
Loftier names have been linked with moves to Stamford Bridge lately, including Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr, as the Brazil sensation stalls on talks over a new deal at the Bernabeu.
According to reports from Spain, another very ambitious potential signing in Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz is being considered. The £100 million attacker is widely regarded as Germany's rising star, leading to interest from a succession of clubs, including Liverpool and Man City. Chelsea have already held talks with Wirtz's representatives, with Stewart and Winstanley entering the race for his signature.
It won't be an easy move by any means, as European giants Bayern Munich and Real are in contention as well, but he could be worth the effort, going by his meteoric trajectory.
“Incredible. I’ve watched him three times this year now and he’s blown me away every time,” said former England international and Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole on TNT Sports.
“He’s got a South American flair with a German efficiency about him. We’ve all heard of Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, and Musiala. This lad will be new to the British viewers. Let me tell you, he is every bit as talented as those players. He could go on to be anything.”
Fellow ex-England international Owen Hargreaves added on the same panel that Wirtz's numbers are "ridiculous", with the 21-year-old sensation bagging 18 goals and 20 assists in all competitions last season.