Chelsea aren't the type of club to mess about when it comes to transfer interest, and it will come as no surprise to hear they are now hot on the trail of one of Europe's rising commodities ahead of the summer window, per reports.
Chelsea are already making moves ahead of the summer
Enzo Maresca has endured a mixed spell in charge of Chelsea, but may finish the campaign with a top-four finish and silverware in the form of the Conference League should all go to plan.
Taking into account that he is still fairly new to senior management, any such outcome would have to go down as a success story at Stamford Bridge. Looking to build on solid foundations, the Blues boss has already sealed deals to bring Dario Essugo and Geovany Quenda to west London from Sporting Clube de Portugal for a fee in excess of £60m.
Sporting CP's Geovany Quenda in action-1
Unlikely to stop there, Chelsea are ready to sell Raheem Sterling and Joao Felix to fund their striker pursuit, potentially freeing up £345,000 per week in wage expenditure to hone in on improving other areas of the squad.
Finding a balance that adheres to PSR regulations will be a challenge. Still, Todd Boehly and company are well-versed in the art of the deal, so expect plenty of incomings from start to finish in the upcoming window.
While their strategy of stockpiling young talent has its critics, they aren't the only club in the world keen to amass an empire of assets, either at first-team level or for trade on the market.
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Continuing the theme of pushing towards a younger squad profile, Maresca has now put his hat in the ring for one of Europe's most promising defenders, according to recent developments.
Chelsea 'looking closely' at Bournemouth breakout star Dean Huijsen
According to David Ornstein (as per by CaughtOffside), Chelsea are 'looking closely' at Bournemouth star Dean Huijsen and may look to trigger his £50m release clause, which is active from this summer.
He stated: "He is expected to move for that £50m clause, which is active in the summer, and I’m sure Bournemouth, the player and his suitors would ideally like some clarity sooner rather than later so they can plan accordingly.
Dean Huijsen's key Premier League statistics - 2024/25
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"We know Chelsea have been looking closely at him, Newcastle have been heavily linked but not sure I see that one materialising and even massive clubs on the continent like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are being mentioned in certain quarters."
Reports in Spain lay out that Chelsea watched Huijsen in action for Spain against the Netherlands in the Nations League, lending credence to the notion that they could strike to bring the Amsterdam-born man to west London. In light of his potential, he has been labelled "excellent" by prominent X personality Jacek Kulig.
Real Madrid have also run checks on the defender and could offer some serious competition in the battle for his signature. They won't be the only ones judging his recent form.
Now, it remains to be seen whether Chelsea will firm up their initial admiration for the defender by making an approach once the summer window gets underway.