Chelsea transfer roundup for 19 July to 25 July, 2021
As the days pass, the transfer market is starting to go off. All sorts of transfer rumors are starting to come up. Some making sense and some as always, are senseless. It seems that the last month of the transfer window will be very busy and a lot of deals will go through.
One thing that did finally happen was the unveiling of Jadon Sancho as a Manchester United. To all the Chelsea fans’ disappointment, another week goes by with no incomings or any solid report stating any further development on big name signings. But the club is certainly ramping up the number of players that are being sold which we will talk about below.
In other news, the club’s Ireland training camp was cut short after their friendly with Drogheda United was called off in the 11th hour due to a first team player being tested positive for Covid-19. This situation has forced the club to return to Cobham as a safety measure so that the first team players are not being affected by Covid illness.
The friendly of Drogheda United was replaced with a friendly match with all Chelsea players playing against each other, which ended all square 1-1. Callum Hudson-Odoi and Armando Broja both scored the goals and are continuing to impress in the pre-season.
Callum Hudson-Odoi has been in the shape of his life according to various reports and people within the club feel that this season can be the turning point for his Chelsea career. The Albanian striker continues to impress after scoring another goal in a friendly and further solidifies his chance of being in the first team.
Coming back to the transfer roundup, here’s everything regarding transfers that have happened this past week in Chelsea Football Club:
1. Chelsea’s three man centerback shortlist
According to various reports and even Nizaar Kinsella, Chelsea has a three man shortlist for the centerback position as both Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger are not close to signing a new contract. Both the center-backs have only a year left on their contracts.
The German defender, now 28, was signed from AS Roma and, after the appointment of Thomas Tuchel, became a vital part of the club’s backline. The Danish defender, 25, is similarly another player who had a brilliant season under the German coach. Both of them even featured in the UEFA Champions League final in May, helping the club in securing their second ever Champions League title.
But the club now is in a precarious situation where they risk losing them the next year for free if no new contract is agreed. If it does come to that situation Chelsea has shortlisted three defenders; Raphael Varane of Real Madrid, Niklas Sule of Bayern Munich, and Jules Kounde of Sevilla.
Out of these three targets, Raphael Varane has been in lengthy conversations with Chelsea’s Premier League rivals Manchester United. The most realistic target the club can acquire for cheap is the German defender due to his contract situation. With only a year left on his contract and with a market value of £31.50 million, the Blues can secure the defender for a fee in a region of £20-25 million until he signs a new contract. The Sevilla youngster has a £68 million release clause but the club might not agree to match that figure.
The ideal situation would be to renew the contracts of both Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger. But buying a new defender even after the contract renewals would be smart as current Chelsea center backs as Thiago Silva, turns 37, Cesar Azpilicueta, 31, also only have a year left on his contract and Kurt Zouma is supposedly on the transfer list.