Chelsea have been linked with a swap deal which would help to replace Marc Cucurella and solve another key problem
Losing Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid came as a sudden and severe blow to Chelsea. Left-back went from being one of the squad’s least problematic positions to a headache almost overnight as the Spaniard headed back home in a whirlwind transfer with only the briefest gap between the payment of his release clause and the confirmation that he had gone.
New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonsoplaceholder image
New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso | Getty Images
The Blues, seemingly unprepared to go shopping for a new left-back, are now playing catch-up as they look for a replacement – and one player who seems to be on the radar is Juventus and Italy’s Andrea Cambiaso, who seems set to leave the Allianz Stadium this summer. But will Chelsea be among his suitors, and could they even get creative by engineering a surprising swap deal which also helps them to move on from a player they no longer want to keep at Stamford Bridge?
Could Chelsea sign Andrea Cambiaso in the transfer window?
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Several media outlets have already reported that the 26-year-old Cambiaso is among the players being considered as a replacement for Cucurella, with Italian journalist Mirko Di Natale seemingly the first to break the story – but Cambiaso has looked likely to leave Juventus for some time now.
That’s not a reflection of the versatile full-back’s performances but of Juventus’ financial situation. The club reportedly need to raise at least €30m (£26m) in player sales this summer in order to cover the costs of missing out on Champions League football, and Cambiaso is among the high value players that they are willing to part with.
Cambiaso has been a long-term target for several other sides, with Manchester City, Liverpool and Barcelona all linked in recent months, but Chelsea’s rather urgent need for a left-back may have put them at the front of the queue – not that a bid appears to have been made just yet.
With Chelsea seemingly yet to have opened discussions, it’s hard to tell just how likely it is that Cambiaso’s next move will take him to Stamford Bridge. This is a player who ticks many of the Blues’ boxes thanks to his technical quality and ability to support the attack, but who is also slightly older than the players they usually pursue – at 26, he would be the oldest player that Chelsea have signed in four years.
With new head coach Xabi Alonso expected to be handed more authority over transfer decisions than his predecessor, however, Chelsea could change tack and move away from a philosophy which has seen them prioritise players with potential for future profit.
Di Natale reported that Juventus would ask for around €40m (£35m) for Cambiaso, although a separate report from Gazzetta dello Sport suggests that Chelsea are ready to bid rather less, with an opening offer in the region of €27-28m (around £24m) suggested. Then again, they also believe that negotiations could result in a deal which also sends Nicolas Jackson to Serie A…
Could Chelsea swap Nicolas Jackson for Andrea Cambiaso?
Nicolas Jackson scored a goal every 130 minutes in the Bundesliga this season.placeholder image
Nicolas Jackson scored a goal every 130 minutes in the Bundesliga this season. | Getty Images
Gazzetta dello Sport also claim that Juventus are keen to strike a deal for Senegal international Jackson, who has spent the last season on loan with Bayern Munich after Chelsea decided to move on from a player who cost them £32m when he signed from Villarreal back in 2023.
Jackson only scored 11 goals in Bavaria but seldom started games as he found himself trapped behind an in-form Harry Kane. The games he did manage to play, and the goals he did have time to score, were allegedly enough to persuade Juventus to make a move.
While Juventus’ focus is on selling players to cover the loss of Champions League football, they also desperately need reinforcements up front. Dušan Vlahović is leaving the club on a free transfer, Loïs Openda is expected to leave after a dire debut season in Turin, and there is also a possibility that they move on from Canadian forward Jonathan David.
As they embark upon a desperately-needed attacking refresh, Gazzetta believe that Jackson – who is Senegal’s starting striker at the World Cup – is a target, although there’s no word on how much they might offer for the 24-year-old, or whether they would aim to keep negotiations separate rather than trying to strike a part-exchange deal involving Cambiaso.
The former scenario seems more likely, as Juventus need to put cash in their bank account to stay in the black over the coming year. In any case, it does not appear that any discussions have taken place over a deal just yet, and Juventus are looking at other strikers as well, not least Randal Kolo Muani, who spent last season on loan with Tottenham Hotspur.
However the two deals were structured, signing Cambiaso and selling Jackson in the same stroke would kill two birds with one stone – but there is a long way to go before a deal gets done, and no certainty that the Italian is going to be Chelsea’s first choice as they work to replace Cucurella. This is a situation which may take longer to solve than it did to create.
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