Newcastle and Bayern Munich are among the clubs interested in Nicolas Jackson
Hard as it is to believe, Chelsea only have the 11th highest net spend in the Premier League this summer at €47.7 million (£41.3m) in the red - less than half of their winnings of the Club World Cup - and they’re set to receive another windfall of around £80m from the sale of Nicolas Jackson.
Somehow the Senegalese striker’s transfer value has almost tripled during two Premier League seasons in which he’s scored 14 goals in 35 games, the 10 in 30 while Jackson is set to miss the start of next season through suspension if he remains in England.
Newcastle United are currently the favourites to sign the 24-year-old, raising the hilarious possibility that Jackson could miss his first league game in black and white because of a red card he picked up against the Magpies, though Bayern Munich are among the list of clubs also interested on the continent.
Jackson’s latest valuation has at least dropped from the three-figure monstrosity quoted earlier in the window, Chelsea still believe him to be worth more than Benjamin Sesko due to being (according to them) proven in the Premier League.
Why do Chelsea need to sign yet another centre-back?
As Chelsea prepare to sign their 312th and 313th attackers in the final third in the form of Alejandro Garnacho and Xavi Simons, it’s possible that they’re still not done recruiting for the final third.
Both Morgan Rogers and Kenan Yildiz have been subject of Chelsea interest this window and their golden financial position means that even after these three signings went through, they’d have more than enough money to target Aston Villa or Juventus’ star man.
Chelsea had a bid of between €65-€68m (£56.3-£58.9m) rejected by The Old Lady earlier this window for one of the best dribblers in Europe who’d also immediately become the best defensive forward available to Enzo Maresca having just turned 20.
Having survived their Profit and Sustainability Rules scare earlier this year, Aston Villa are demanding £100m for Rogers but if Chelsea do offer nine figures, they’ll find it very difficult to turn that down.
Despite the congestion in Chelsea’s squad, 23-year-old Rogers would surely walk straight into Maresca’s starting XI as one of the most electric threats in the Premier League capable of scoring and assisting at the very highest level.
Meanwhile Chelsea have enough centre-backs that it would be very easy to imagine Maresca - with all due sympathy for Colwill himself - quoting Jeremy Clarkson’s ‘Oh no! Anyway…’ catchphrase following the injury.
Renato Veiga, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile, Tosin Adarabioyo, Aaron Anselmino and Mamadou Sarr are all under contract at Stamford Bridge in the same position, so what’s the issue?
Well, they’ve made 148 total combined appearances in royal blue at the heart of the defence in the Premier League at an average of 18.5, with Chalobah alone responsible for over a third of those and Sarr out on loan at Strasbourg this season.
Meanwhile they already have too many players to be practical in attacking areas even without Garnacho and/or Simons, so much so that they’re prepared to sell the highly-rated Tyrique George.
Marc Guehi makes perfect sense for Chelsea
And if they are going to invest in central defence, who better for Chelsea to target than Guehi? Aged 25, the former Blues academy player announced himself as one of the sturdiest defenders in the world as arguably England’s star man at last summer’s European Championships and has only gone from strength to strength from there.
Perhaps not the best aerial presence, Guehi makes up for it with tough tackling on the ground and a midfielder’s passing ability, which would be a perfect fit for Maresca and Chelsea. And given the absence of other established options, Guehi’s leadership experience as a former Crystal Palace would be invaluable too.
The Eagles have so far stayed strong in the face of continued pressure from the Premier League’s rich seven but as the season begins, if Chelsea really turn the screw it will become harder and harder to hold onto the 25-year-old.
The Guardian’s Ed Aarons reports Crystal Palace have dropped their asking price to £40m after rejecting a bid of almost double that from Tottenham in January, and Liverpool are another team interested, though would likely be starting the race for Guehi from further back than Chelsea with the minutes they’d be able to offer and their London location.
Even if Chelsea did need to raise their bid to convince Palace and Guehi, it would surely be well worth it and Jackson’s sale means they will have the means to do so.
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