Chelsea want to sign a £163,000-per-week star from Bayern Munich this summer, which would be a significant loss for their new manager Vincent Kompany.
Chelsea could sign another defender after Tosin Adarabioyo
The Bavarians and Chelsea could actually do some business together in this next transfer window, with both sides preparing for new eras under different head coaches before the start of next season.
£72 million player really wants to quit Chelsea with Maresca talks imminent
He has his eyes on the Stamford Bridge exit door.
ByEmilio GalantiniJun 7, 2024
Chelsea announced Enzo Maresca as their new manager to replace Mauricio Pochettino earlier this week, with the Italian putting pen to paper on a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge, which includes the option of a further year.
The west Londoners want to sign multiple defenders for Maresca, as shared by Fabrizio Romano recently, who also said that Chelsea could be set for a busy summer transfer window.
Games managed
53
Wins
36
Draws
4
Losses
13
Points per game
2.11
"It will continue to be a busy summer at Chelsea," said Romano on Chelsea's transfer plans after bringing in Maresca.
"It won’t be completely crazy but they will try to make smart things happen, including a new goalkeeper and I expect them to try for at least one new centre-back, but it could be two. I also expect Chelsea to be busy with the striker position, and I mentioned many times Benjamin Sesko, who is highly rated at Chelsea but also by others like Arsenal and Manchester United."
Chelsea have already sealed a deal for Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer from Fulham, so that is one centre-back on the books and ready to replace the departed Thiago Silva, who re-joined Fluminese on a Bosman deal after leaving west London.
Romano's statement indicates that another centre-back may well arrive after Tosin, and one candidate to come in is Bayern Munich's Dayot Upamecano. The France international, on a rumoured wage of around £163,000 per week, made 33 appearances under Thomas Tuchel last season, and it is unlikely Kompany will let him go easily.
However, Bayern are rumoured to be targeting Chelsea left-back Ian Maatsen, so perhaps negotiations involving the Dutchman could help to sweeten any proposed deal.
Chelsea want to take Upamecano away from Bayern Munich
Such is his glowing reputation, Upamecano would be quite the statement capture by Chelsea, and he has plenty of experience on the biggest stages. The 25-year-old has 19 caps for Les Bleus at international level, and reliable Bundesliga journalist Christian Falk has claimed Chelsea would like to sign Upamecano from Bayern this summer.
"Yes, it's true: Chelsea would like Dayot Upamecano," said Falk on the FC Bayern Insider podcast.
"It's not really clear yet whether he'll have a chance next year. Vincent Kompany is looking at everyone, but would Bayern let him go? That would probably cost a lot of money. At the time, Bayern paid €42.5m to RB Leipzig."
France legend Marcel Desailly has previously tipped Upamecano to become one of the best centre-backs in his country, which surely suggests Chelsea would have a quality player on their hands.