Football
Chelsea going for big names
Chelsea are being linked with some superbly exciting big names in transfer deals that look badly needed after last season’s disappointment at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues may have finished on a high by scraping past Manchester United to win the FA Cup final, but missed out on Champions League football by only limping to fifth place in the Premier League.
Looking at some of the signings they made this time last year, it’s little wonder really, with the likes of Alvaro Morata and Tiemoue Bakayoko among the most disappointing of their high-profile purchases.
Big money was spent on the pair in a failed attempt to replace departing stars Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic, leaving the team woefully short of the required quality in midfield and attack.
It seems clear change is needed in those areas and it seems the west Londoners may be working to address that if latest transfer speculation is to be believed.
A £53million deal may be in place to sign Juventus goal machine Gonzalo Higuain, which actually looks a bargain for one of the most clinical finishers in the game for the last five years.
This report comes from Sport Mediaset, as translated by the Metro, and the Argentine would surely be far better than Morata at bringing the kind of numbers in terms of goals that Costa did, even if he is a little slow to settle in England after a few years in Italy as one might expect.
In another potentially exciting addition up front, Anthony Martial has been repeatedly linked with the club and would be another option either at centre-forward or out wide.
The Sun claim Manchester United would ask for as much as £100m for him, which shouldn’t really be out of Chelsea’s price range if they are to be serious challengers any time soon.
The Daily Mail have linked Martial as a target for Chelsea, and they could of course raise funds by selling Willian, who would likely be replaced by Martial in that front three.
The Brazil international has been linked with Barcelona and Mundo Deportivo claim he has an asking price of £70m, which would definitely help with Chelsea’s spending.
Finally, Chelsea could bring in their much-needed midfield upgrade with the signing of CSKA Moscow star Aleksandr Golovin.
Having impressed with Russia at the World Cup, the Blues have held talks over a £27m deal for the talented 22-year-old, according to the Telegraph.
In total that would be £180m very well spent on repairing the errors of last summer and surely put CFC back as one of the top sides in the country again.