Chelsea FC will court PSG defender Marquinhos during the winter transfer window
Even though the transfer window is closed, Chelsea FC continue to be linked with moves for several players. Yesterday, it was reported that contact had been made with Real Betis regarding Dani Ceballos and this morning rumours are doing the rounds that the Blues will target Paris St. Germain (PSG) centre-back Marquinhos.
The Brazilian has been infrequently linked with a switch to Stamford Bridge throughout the summer. With Chelsea’s severe lack of depth at the back, the club were on the hunt for a defender in the transfer window. However, the only deals that materialised were those for Abdul Baba Rahman, Papy Djilobodji and Michael Hector.
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Not quite what Blues fans were expecting.
While John Stones dominated the headlines, as that deal neared collapse the Blues went in for Marquinhos. Evidently, they failed. The failure has not deterred them, though, and The Metro claims that the club is set to go back for him come January.
Citing French source Le 10 Sport, the paper states that despite a reported rejected bid worth £30million in August, Chelsea will look to capitalise on the player’s backup status at PSG and bring him to Stamford Bridge.
Marquinhos has not been a first team player under Laurent Blanc, making only 19 league appearances last season, and the French boss was willing to let him go in the summer should he not see him as part of his plans. Given that nothing has materialised and he has only played for 10 minutes thus far in this campaign, the onus is now on the player to force the move.
"Laurent Blanc told the 21-year-old he would be granted a summer exit from the club if he didn’t feature in their early games.But despite only playing 10 minutes so far this season, Marquinhos remains a PSG player, although he is reportedly willing to force a move away if his situation doesn’t change."
Should this happen, the Blues may be able to sign him for a price lower than market value. If the stories about the earlier rejected bid are true, then Chelsea may be expecting to pay near
John Stones figures
£40million for his services. However, if he makes clear his unhappiness to the PSG brass they may be willing to do a deal for less.
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Out of all the scenarios in which players sulk and moan in an attempt to engineer a transfer, this is one situation in which the defender will be justified. He is simply not playing for the French champions and someone of his quality should not be wasting away on the bench.
Having said that, while the 21-year-old will not bring the administrative benefits that the home-grown Stones will, his quality coupled with his age is enough to justify a fee in the region of £30million.
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