Over the weekend, Chelsea stars have shone brightly for their respective countries. At the very least, one Chelsea player will be a double European champion by having already won the UEFA Champions League and with a Euro trophy waiting for a Blues star. Although a lot of attention was on the likes of Mason Mount (England), Jorginho (Italy) and Cesar Azpilicueta (Spain) across the weekend, there has been transfer activity at Stamford Bridge.
A highly praised player among the Blues faithful, Billy Gilmour, has joined fellow Premier League club and newly promoted Norwich City on a season-long loan deal. The Scot has struggled to get regular game time at Chelsea. Gilmour has been in action over the summer with his native Scotland at the European Championship, his tournament was cut short after he tested positive for COVID-19. Gilmour delivered man of the match performances numerous times when he got a chance to be in the starting lineup for the Blues. The question is will the Scot get the amount of minutes he desires and help Norwich stay up in the Premier League?
Next up is a player who played a crucial part in our title winning campaign in 2016/17, Victor Moses. The Nigerian international has had his fair share of loan deals at Chelsea but over the weekend, Moses completed a permanent transfer to Russian club, Spartak Moscow. Moses’ release clause, on the loan contract, was triggered when Spartak confirmed UEFA Champions League qualification at the latter part of the 2020/21 season. The deal was reportedly worth £5m.
Moses played a significant role under the Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte’s title winning squad in 2017. Conte switched to a back three with two wingbacks early on that season with the 30-year-old playing the majority of the season at right wingback. The Nigerian spent nine years at Chelsea, winning the Europa League, Premier League and FA Cup in the three years he actually played for Chelsea. After so many loan deals at the West-London club it’s good to see him finally feel at home. Let’s hope he will be successful.
With the 2021/22 season getting under way this week, lots of academy and returning loan players will be hoping to impress under manager Thomas Tuchel before the rest of the first team players arrive at Cobham at the end of the week.
One player for sure to keep my eye on is Conor Gallagher who spent last season on loan at relegated West Brom. Gallagher impressed numerous times over the whole of the previous campaign, delivering eye-catching performances and a couple of goals as well. Should Chelsea sign Declan Rice this summer, then it would be expected that Gallagher is sent out on loan again to get some regular first team minutes.
It is very much clear that Tuchel wants four signings in the summer from the following positions, a right sided defender, a central midfielder, a center back and a striker. Tuchel is still considering Adama Traore from Premier League side Wolves after target Achraf Hakimi signed for Paris-Saint Germain. With Fikayo Tomori signing for AC Milan, it’s priority for Chelsea to sign a center back to have a competitive edge in the squad. However, it will be difficult to sign a defender willing enough to keep sitting on the bench week in and week out.
I do believe Chelsea will get Erling Haaland this summer. Will Declan Rice be in Chelsea blue when the season kickoff in August? I don’t think so. West Ham want £100m for Rice and I think Chelsea could get much better for that amount.
The summer is still young and preseason is underway. It will be a very interesting transfer window. Let us know who do you want to challenge Reece James for the right wingback spot, and will Traore be a good fit at Stamford Bridge?