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317-time Man Utd player left without club as talks collapse over contract demands

Chelsea have had a really chaotic period under Boehly and Eghbali, and fans will hope things can improve once these two are perhaps no longer working together, as it seems their relationship is now at an all-time low.

The Blues surely need everyone to be pushing in the same direction, even if there are some understandable doubts about how both men involved have handled the ownership of such a big club.

Abramovich had his critics when he owned Chelsea, but his frequent managerial changes and big-money signings at least tended to mean the team mostly had a world class line up every season that competed for the biggest trophies.

So far, this more long-term approach built around signing numerous highly-rated young players doesn’t seem to be delivering results, even if it might require some patience.

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Chelsea co-owners disagreed about manager change this summer

Mark Brus — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 11:57:51 +0000

Chelsea’s owners reportedly had a difference in opinion regarding making a change of manager this summer, with Todd Boehly said to have signalled a preference towards giving Mauricio Pochettino more time.

In the end, Enzo Maresca replaced Pochettino at Stamford Bridge, with the Argentine dismissed after just one season in charge.

While we may never entirely know the truth about what went on behind the scenes at Chelsea at this time, The Athletic report that Boehly seemed to favour keeping Pochettino, whereas Behdad Eghbali’s trigger-happy approach ultimately led to the club making a change.

Pochettino didn’t do the most convincing job at Chelsea, but some fans will have been heartened by how the team improved as the season went on, while Boehly spoke publicly about needing to be patient and give this long-term project time.

Maresca looks an exciting appointment and there’ll surely be plenty of CFC supporters who feel they’re starting to see more of an improvement this term, but it seems far from ideal that the ownership is seemingly quite divided on this.

Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali

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Chelsea enjoyed plenty of success during the Roman Abramovich era, but even that was characterised by a lot of signings, long lists of players out on loan who never appeared for the club’s first-team, and frequent managerial changes.

Still, that period did at least coincide with far better performances on the pitch, whereas now the efforts of Boehly and Eghbali to completely rebuild the west London outfit don’t seem to be working.

Chelsea fans will hope the issues between the owners can be resolved, but The Athletic suggests that the pair are no longer on speaking terms, so it’s not looking too encouraging from that point of view, and it will surely end up being the case that one of them has to make way for a full takeover for the other.

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Chelsea can still finalise “little details” to get major transfer deal done, claims ex-Blue

Mark Brus — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 09:37:07 +0000

Former Chelsea star Mikel John Obi has suggested that it would be very easy for the club to pick up the Victor Osimhen transfer deal again in January or next summer, with just some little details remaining until the deal can be finalised.

Osimhen was clearly close to becoming a Chelsea player this summer, but in the end Mikel has suggested there just wasn’t enough time to get those final elements over the line, though he commended his old club for the strong work they did and the ambition they showed on this deal.

See below as the former Blues midfielder discussed what he knew about this deal on his podcast, with the former Nigeria international clearly very close to the situation as it involved his fellow countryman potentially following in his footsteps by moving to Stamford Bridge…

? THE OSIMHEN STORY ??

?? @mikel_john_obi lifts the lid on what REALLY happened between @ChelseaFC & @victorosimhen9…

? Brand new episode out now. ??

? https://t.co/eiWVb8pdx6 pic.twitter.com/OyjwzbumVp

— The Obi One Podcast (@obionepodcast) September 9, 2024

Osimhen transfer: Still hope for Chelsea?

Osimhen would have been a dream signing for Chelsea, and it seems Mikel is optimistic that it might not be over just yet, so fans will no doubt be eager to see if the club do indeed pick this up again and try to revive talks in January or the summer.

Osimhen ended up leaving Napoli for a surprise loan move to Galatasaray, but there is also a break clause in that deal which specifically allows Chelsea to be one of the clubs able to sign him from the Turkish giants, according to Simon Phillips Talks Chelsea.

Could we still see Victor Osimhen making the move to Chelsea?

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Although CFC will no doubt have high hopes for promising young forward Nicolas Jackson, there is also surely room for a more proven player like Osimhen to come in to Enzo Maresca’s side soon and give them more of a reliable goal threat.

Chelsea had a busy summer bringing in the likes of Joao Felix, Pedro Neto, Jadon Sancho, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tosin Adarabioyo, but one imagines they’ll keep on investing in this squad once the transfer window opens up again in January.

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“Open for a sale” – Chelsea ready to sell player who joined the club in 2022

Ahad Shaukat — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 09:20:43 +0000

Chelsea were one of the busiest teams in the transfer window this summer.

The Blues managed to offload the likes of Conor Gallagher, Raheem Sterling, Romelu Lukaku, Armando Broja and others while Pedro Neto, Joao Felix, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall became a part of the new look Chelsea team.

Manager Enzo Maresca has arrived at the club with a plan and he has been acting, at times ruthlessly, to achieve that.

Under his leadership, some players have been told they will not be a part of the club in the future.

Those names include Sterling and Ben Chilwell but that list could grow even more soon.

According to journalist Ben Jacobs, Chelsea would considering selling Carney Chukwuemeka if the player does not change the management’s mind about him.

The midfielder joined the club from Aston Villa in 2022 and despite showing promising early signs, his progress has stalled.

The club wants to send the player on loan to continue his development but if they cannot do that, they will considering cashing in on him.

Jacobs told GiveMeSport:

Chelsea, don’t look at Chukwuemeka as somebody that is a big outlay on the wage bill. Nor was he signed for a particularly large fee. It was a big fee, given his age and his profile at the time, but it’s under £20million all in so Chelsea, want to give the player the opportunity to maybe change their mind or move higher in the pecking order, and that may come through a loan to get him more minutes, or if something can’t be facilitated, they’ll be open for a sale in 2025.”

Carney Chukwuemeka in action for Chelsea.

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The 20-year-old Chukwuemeka has a long way to go as a player since he is still young and in the early stages of his development.

The fact that the club are ready to give him a chance to impress them shows that they rate the player and value him.

The Chelsea midfielder has to take his game to the next level

Now it is up to him to show them consistency and commitment while playing for the Blues.

He featured for Chelsea in the early stages of last season under former manager Mauricio Pochettino and started the season well but an injury forced him out of the team and since then he has been unable to cement his place in the line up.

With a number of players arriving at the club this summer, Chukwuemeka has fallen down the pecking order and playing time will be limited for him.

A loan move away from Stamford Bridge is the ideal solution to his problem at the moment.

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“He’s key” – Enzo Maresca singles out one Chelsea signing he’s “very happy” to have brought in

Mark Brus — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 08:34:55 +0000

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has singled out new signing Jadon Sancho as an important addition that he’s happy to have brought into his squad this season.

Sancho ended up joining Chelsea on loan from Manchester United right at the end of the summer, in a deal which will almost certainly end up being made permanent this time next year.

Although Sancho struggled during his time at Man Utd, he enjoyed an impressive loan spell back at former club Borussia Dortmund in the second half of last season, showing glimpses of his best form again as he helped the Bundesliga giants make it to the Champions League final.

Still unwanted by United, however, Sancho ended up leaving for Chelsea and it seems Maresca is optimistic about what the 24-year-old can bring to his side with his 1v1 dribbling ability…

??? Enzo Maresca: “I’m very happy to have Sancho at Chelsea, he’s here because we like that kind of player who can help in 1vs1”.

“He’s key – especially against a low block, we need him”. pic.twitter.com/6Rk6Y0BaJV

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 9, 2024

Sancho might find he’s a better fit for what the Blues are trying to do under Maresca, with his playing style just never seeming quite right in what has been a chaotic few years with a lot of change of personnel at Old Trafford.

United fans will be furious, however, if they watch another of their flops going on to shine elsewhere, as has happened a few times in this difficult and challenging post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

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Sancho transfer could be good for Chelsea, but raises questions for United

So many top talents have joined United in recent years, such as Angel Di Maria, Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Harry Maguire, Casemiro and Antony, only to end up looking a shadow of their former selves upon arrival.

A few of those, however, then got back to their best after leaving the club, particularly Di Maria, while even Lukaku had a brief return to form in a spell at Inter Milan, even if he then went downhill again after joining Chelsea.

Jadon Sancho joined Chelsea on Deadline Day

It will be interesting to see what the Sancho story ends up being, but it seems clear he at least finally has a manager who really believes in him.

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Barcelona have had contacts over big-name transfer, key developments expected in coming weeks

Mark Brus — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 08:12:54 +0000

Barcelona have had initial contacts over the potential transfer of Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah, according to Matteo Moretto in the latest edition of his Daily Briefing column.

The Germany international is in the final year of his contract with Leverkusen, and his situation attracted a lot of speculation in the summer, with both Bayern Munich and Chelsea linked with him at various points.

The latest on Tah now seems to be that Barca will explore in the weeks ahead if they can potentially make a deal for him work with Financial Fair Play, which has proven a bit of a complicated issue for the Catalan giants in recent times, impacting what they can do in the transfer market.

Barca didn’t have the busiest summer this year, just bringing in Dani Olmo as their main major new addition, but it seems they’re now serious about looking into a possible deal for Tah, who would surely be a superb addition if they could pull it off.

Tah transfer: Where next for Leverkusen’s star centre-back?

Leverkusen have a number of star names who will now surely be tempting for Europe’s more established elite clubs, with the Bundesliga champions majorly over-achieving thanks to the excellent work done by their exciting young manager Xabi Alonso.

Jonathan Tah in action for Germany

The price Leverkusen will inevitably pay for their surprise success is big names like Tah being targeted by the Bayerns and Barcas of this world, and it now seems a very difficult ask for the German champions to keep him.

Tah has been a key figure in this remarkable Leverkusen story, but at the same time he’ll surely be keen to represent one of the more historic names of European football before his career is done.

The 28-year-old is now surely right at the peak of his powers, so if he doesn’t get his big move now he might not have another chance.

Tah future not decided yet, says Moretto

Discussing Tah’s future, Moretto said: “This week Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah gave an interview to Suddeutsche Zeitung, in which he confirmed that he would not be renewing his contract with die Werkself, after months of links with Bayern Munich. Fabrizio Romano has also reported that an agreement on personal terms with the Bavarian side was reached months ago.

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“That said, I don’t think Tah’s future is already decided by any means. As he himself admitted, he will be free to decide where to go.

“Barcelona are in the race, as are other clubs. Barcelona already initiated contacts for Tah at the end of this transfer market, and in the coming weeks, will try to see if it is possible for them sign him on a free transfer within their salary limit restrictions.”

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“Lot better in an Arsenal shirt” – Pundit claims Chelsea player would shine at rivals

Ahad Shaukat — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 05:49:27 +0000

Chelsea have made a lot of signings in the last two years and despite spending heavily on new players, not all of them have worked out at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues have endured a difficult time, with the club failing to reach the heights expected of them.

They have faced issues on and off the pitch, with not only their performances coming into question but also how the club is being run under Todd Boehly.

One of their most expensive signings Mykhailo Mudryk has been a massive failure at Stamford Bridge.

The club fought against rivals Arsenal to sign the Ukrainian winger but after arriving from Shakhtar Donetsk with huge expectation, he has failed to deliver.

Former Chelsea player and football pundit Scott Minto has now claimed that the player would be better off at Arsenal.

Minto feels that Chelsea are missing stability that the players need to perform.

While speaking to TalkSPORT, he discussed the uncertainty of the manager position at Stamford Bridge.

He said:

“The best thing to do is to create stability, and that’s something which they have not been able to have because the manager keeps on going and the new manager coming in is not given best in class.

Mykhaylo Mudryk has struggled since joining Chelsea.

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“You talk about Mykhailo Mudryk, who Arsenal wanted. I am not sure he is (a great footballer). He certainly is not showing it at the moment.

“I think he would be a lot better in an Arsenal shirt than he would in a Chelsea shirt. That is an indictment of Chelsea.”

It is difficult to come to a conclusion about how Mudryk would have turned out at Arsenal.

However, in a more stable environment under a manager who has a clear vision of his philosophy like Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, the player could have performed much better.

Arsenal wanted to sign Mudryk but he joined Chelsea

The Gunners manager has been able to improve the level of his players, particularly in the last two seasons when they have fought for the Premier League title race against Manchester City.

Mudryk’s qualities as a player, his pace and dribbling skills, is something that the wide players at Arsenal are required to do and possibly Arteta would have managed to get the best out of him.

The player’s lack of playing time in the starting line up at Chelsea seems to have affected his confidence hugely.

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Finance expert details how much he feels Arsenal will pay for Sterling this season

Charlie Patrick — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 22:42:21 +0000

Finance expert Stefan Borson believes it’s likely Arsenal will pay around £6m for Raheem Sterling this season.

Sterling joined the Gunners on a season long loan deal on deadline day from rivals Chelsea after being told he was no longer part of the club’s project.

The 29-year-old was one of several high profile players who were training with Chelsea’s under-21 side, and were it not for his late move to the Emirates the England international faced the prospect of playing no football until January.

Sterling to cost Arsenal around £6m

It’s fair to say Sterling didn’t live up to expectations at Stamford Bridge following his £50m from Manchester City in 2022.

Despite showing glimpses of what he can do, the winger undelivered and was even booed by Chelsea supporters last season.

Sterling still has three years left on his current deal reportedly worth in excess of £300,000 per week, with Chelsea believed to be contributing at least 50% of his wages.

The Blues reportedly won’t receive a loan fee either and have very much just kicked the problem 12 months down the line, but they will likely be grateful to have a portion of Sterling’s huge wages off their books.

Sterling joined Arsenal on loan on deadline day.

Finance expert Borson believes Sterling will end up costing Arsenal around £6m for the season, with the winger in line to make his debut against Tottenham in the North London derby next weekend.

‘”It’s one of those needs-must deals,” he told Football Insider.

“We understand he’s on over £300,000 a week and we know Chelsea will continue to pay the vast majority of that.

“A lot of the numbers that have been talked about are about £100,000 a week that is being paid by Arsenal.

“Overall, you are looking at Arsenal getting a player for maybe £6million for a year and then handing him back to Chelsea as a player who is 30 and will be 31 in December 2025.

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“Therefore, you would think there will be limited resale possibilities, it’s real damage limitation from Chelsea.”

Chelsea will be hoping Sterling performs well enough to play himself into the shop window, and hopefully more clubs will be interested in him next summer.

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Transfer news: Latest on free agents, Liverpool linked with Real Madrid star, Chelsea crisis & more

Fabrizio Romano — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 17:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive transfer news via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service here: thedailybriefing.io

The latest on free agents and potential transfers

The market remains open for free agents like Adrien Rabiot, who has again said no to Turkish opportunities like Galatasaray in the last 24 hours. There have been many reports, but the fact remains that Rabiot has no plans to go to Turkey as he is waiting for an opportunity in one of the top five leagues.

As of today, Rabiot is also still not opening the doors to clubs from Saudi Arabia either, so Europe remains his priority, and let’s see what happens on that front in the next days.

Meanwhile, another free agent is Memphis Depay and he is expected to complete a move to Corinthians on a two-year deal in the coming days. They are preparing all the documents and finalising the details, then Depay to Corinthians should be a ‘here we go’.

Negotiations are also ongoing over Anthony Martial and a possible move to Flamengo on a free transfer. There’s an interest from Martial, and it now depends on the financial final proposal to get it done. Pedro injured his ACL and Flamengo need a striker, so they immediately got in touch with Martial’s camp to discuss terms. Talks continue.

What’s going on at Chelsea?

There have been many reports about the ownership situation at Chelsea. It’s not really my area, as you know I’m focused on transfers, but what’s being claimed is that there is a risk of a ‘civil war’ between owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali. So, what does it mean?

It’s a tense situation as it’s being reported that Boehly and Eghbali both want to buy out the other’s stake in the club to take full ownership. We’ll see how it develops, and I don’t have any fresh information on this issue, but what I can clarify is that on the technical side at Chelsea, the mission remains the same.

The new Chelsea owners have put together a new board, and they are still working on finding the best young talents as we’ve seen from the last few years, with players like Estevao Willian and Kendry Paez, as we saw meeting at international level in the game between Brazil and Ecuador, they are the future of Chelsea, and for now the ownership situation is not affecting the transfer strategy or technical project at Stamford Bridge.

So, for today the Chelsea project is absolutely not changing – they are working on the best talents for a long-term project, for the present and future, but of course if this changes I will keep you updated.

Frenkie de Jong linked with Manchester United again

Frenkie de Jong of Barcelona

We once again this summer had many stories about Frenkie de Jong’s future at Barcelona, and there were new links with Manchester United, as we’ve so often seen before.

The latest we’ve heard is that Man United made some contact with De Jong during a moment when they weren’t so sure if the Manuel Ugarte deal was going to happen. However, I can tell you that this summer, the reality is that there was absolutely nothing.

There was zero between De Jong and Man United, because the reality is that De Jong never wanted to leave Barcelona. De Jong is fully focused on Barcelona, and it’s also important to note that he’s too expensive for Man United – his salary is very high and so it was something impossible for United this summer.

We’ll see what happens in the future, but this summer it was also the case that United wanted a different kind of midfielder anyway, more of a defensive midfielder than De Jong. Ugarte was the only option, their top target, and so there was never any possibility to go for De Jong – between United, Ten Hag, De Jong, the player’s agents, there was absolutely zero.

Aurelien Tchouameni Real Madrid exit looks unlikely

Aurelian Tchouameni is a player we know has had admirers in the Premier League in the past before he ended up at Real Madrid, but there have once again been reports about possible interest from Arsenal and Liverpool for summer 2025, so I wanted to clarify something here.

It’s true that two years ago Tchouameni had the opportunity to join Liverpool before then going to Real Madrid. Jurgen Klopp was calling the player on a daily basis, trying to change his mind, but the Frenchman was clear that he only wanted to go to Real Madrid.

As for now, I can guarantee that nothing has changed between Tchouameni and Real Madrid – their relationship is fantastic. Tchouameni is very happy at Real Madrid, and only focused on Real Madrid. Also Real Madrid, the president, manager Carlo Ancelotti, the technical staff, they all love Tchouameni. From what I hear he’s a really professional guy, and popular with his teammates in the dressing room.

So, forget about rumours about Tchouameni – as of now, there is no expectation for him to leave. Of course I can’t predict what can happen in the future, but at the moment the intension is absolutely for Tchouameni and Real Madrid to continue together.

Bayern considered Inter left-back

Federico Dimarco scored a fantastic goal for Italy in their win over France, and in general he continues to be a strong performer for his country, as well as for his club Inter Milan. Although he has a strong relationship with Inter, I can also reveal there as interest in him earlier in the summer.

Although there was never a negotiation, Bayern Munich discussed internally the possibility of moving for Dimarco as they considered replacements at left-back in case Alphonso Davies were to leave the club amid the interest from Real Madrid.

Dimarco was one of the names discussed by Bayern, though not the only one, he was one of three names, but they never ended up making contact with Inter because Davies ended up staying, and also because Dimarco was never going to leave Inter. Their relationship is really strong, they absolutely want to continue together.

Still, Bayern thought about this possibility, and let’s see if they look into it again depending on what happens with Davies next summer. It’s important, however, to say that from Dimarco and Inter’s perspective, there is absolutely no intention to part ways.

The latest on Jamal Musiala’s future

We continue to see stories about Jamal Musiala, which is normal given his superb performances and his current contract situation at Bayern Munich, with his deal due to expire in 2026.

Bayern have been pushing for months to extend Musiala’s contract and this remain one of their main missions. Bayern will insist again with a big proposal; he’s in the list of all the top European clubs, this is very normal, but it all depends on what happens with Bayern in talks.

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