Enzo Maresca has made his latest transfer demand clear and it could see Chelsea compete for yet another top Newcastle United target in the summer transfer window.
Newcastle United have been bullied by the Premier League’s established elites throughout the transfer window, losing out on top targets to Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Man Utd are at the top of the table, having signed Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko ahead of the Toon, but Chelsea aren’t far behind.
Newcastle were beaten to Joao Pedro and Liam Delap by Chelsea and there could be more disasters on the way before deadline day on September 1, as Enzo Maresca has made it clear he wants to sign a centre-back.
Eddie Howe looks dejected during Newcastle United vs Bournemouth.
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Chelsea are on the hunt for a centre-back after Levi Colwill injury
Chelsea have already spent over £250m on their eight signings this summer, as the London club continue to spend wildly while other clubs are hamstrung by PSR, as Newcastle know all too well.
They’re not done there, either, as Chelsea are said to be closing in on Alejandro Garnacho from Man U and are now in the hunt for a centre-back.
Speaking after his side’s 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Friday, which Newcastle target Nicolas Jackson did not play in, Maresca made it clear it was his new priority.
As quoted by Fabrizio Romano, Maresca said: “It’s a priority for me to get a new centre back. We will see if we go for it.”
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Chelsea confirmed in an official statement on Thursday that centre-back Levi Colwill suffered an ACL injury in training and will likely miss most of the forthcoming season.
With the Blues wanting a centre-back, they could well end up targeting players Newcastle have been eyeing, like Malick Thiaw or Marc Guehi.
Newcastle United might now have to compete with Chelsea for a new centre-back
Newcastle have been perpetually linked with Guehi for going on two years now, but are yet to sign the Crystal Palace captain.
Speculation surrounding Guehi had died down in July but reignited this past week as Newcastle stepped up the search to sign a centre-back.
Howe wants to strengthen his defence as starting duo Dan Burn and Fabian Schar are well into their 30s and Sven Botman is injury-prone.
However, Newcastle are unwilling to meet Palace’s price of over £40m for Guehi.
That dithering over transfer fees saw them miss out on James Trafford to Man City and now they have left the door open for Chelsea to re-sign their former youth player.
Newcastle do seem more interested in Thiaw, though, and have had a £26m bid rejected by AC Milan, with another expected.
Chelsea have not been linked with Thiaw, who Howe rates highly, but, given the way the rest of the window has gone, it would surprise no one if they suddenly stepped in to heap more misery on Newcastle.