Chelsea ‘will make first offer’ for £70m star this week at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea finally got a much needed win in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, and it was a special occasion for more reasons than one.

Of course, most importantly, the club and fans got a chance to say goodbye and pay their respects to a Chelsea legend, Gianluca Vialli, with some fitting tributes and footage displayed around the ground. It was a special and fitting moment.

Then at half time came the announcement of another new signing at the club, Mykhaylo Mudryk from Shakhtar, with Chelsea literally hijacking his move to Arsenal after moving fast for him in the course of a couple of days, a lot like they did with Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid, the week before.

Mudryk joins for a fee of around £63m, which will rise to £88m if certain bonuses are met. It’s a lot of money, but Chelsea are confident that he will become a world class addition.

Chelsea are reforming their attack right now, but this will not be the end of what is becoming, and always was going to be, a very busy month at the club.

Chelsea transfer news

After Mudryk, Chelsea are still looking to sign another new centre midfielder, a right back, and possibly even another attacker.

On the right backs, at the moment the issue is proving to be convincing a player to come in and play second fiddle to Reece James, because that is exactly what they will be doing. James is world class and players that Chelsea have so far made enquiries for, such as Pedro Porro from Sporting and Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen, are seeking assurances on minutes. Chelsea are also keen on Denzel Dumfries from Inter Milan and his agent is actually in London this week, but it’s unclear as of now if that is to meet with Chelsea or not. The club have also pondered other names such as Josip Juranovic at Celtic, and Matty Cash at Aston Villa.

Chelsea are also looking to sign another attacker, whether that be for wide areas of in the centre of their attack. They have been in talks to sign both Marcus Thuram from Borussua Monchengladbach, and Noni Madueke from PSV, and those talks continue.

However, with Thuram, convincing the player to leave this month when he is keen to see out his contract until the summer and make his decision then, is proving to be a bit of a stumbling block, at the time of writing.

Madueke talks continue, and Chelsea are about £8.8m away from agreeing a fee for the England U21 international and have been trying to make that up with add-ons. There was an initial verbal offer from Chelsea for around £25m. Player is happy to go to Chelsea, but he isn’t pushing it and wants to stay respectful to his club.

As well as this, Chelsea are still pondering number 9s, and I understand that if they manage to sell one or two attackers themselves this window, then they might explore a potential late move for Dusan Vlahovic. But this seems very unlikely as of now and would be one for the summer.

Read more: January Transfer Window 2023: When Does It Begin, Rumours and Everything You Need To Know

The midfield has been a priority for Chelsea though since the window started, as you would have seen with the Enzo Fernandez debacle. That one looks like a dead deal now unless Chelsea go back in with another late offer. But attentions will turn to other options on the list, and one of those is Moises Caicedo at Brighton.

I’ve been told to expect a first offer from Chelsea this week to test the waters. Chelsea would be keen to agree the fee with Brighton first, and then they will speak to Caicedo’s new agents, who start on January the 18th, to sort out personal terms, but that is not expected to be an issue. The key will be if Chelsea can agree a fee with Brighton, and if they are willing to spend the £70m quoted fee that it will take for Brighton to allow their star midfielder to go this month.

Chelsea exit news

Chelsea have been open to receiving offers for Hakim Ziyech this window, but at the time of writing, there has been nothing solid come in for him other than interest. Something could still develop later in the window.

Meanwhile, there could be a departure in midfield, especially if a new midfielder arrives as expected. There is some interest from Leicester City in Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but it has always been his desire to stay and make it at Chelsea. Nothing more than just interest for now.

Chelsea have also been sounding out potential Italian clubs who might be willing to put down a fee to sign Jorginho this month, with him now looking unlikely to sign a contract extension at the club. Nothing set in stone either way there yet, but it looks like he will soon be leaving, whether that’s this month or in the summer as a free agent.

Other than that, as of now, things remain quieter in the outgoings department, but Chelsea continue to be very active in the buying market this month.

The thing I find most interesting is just how quick Chelsea are getting a deal done when they really head into it and have made a decision on it. These last two deals have been done within a couple of days and then suddenly, we see a player at Stamford Bridge holding up the shirt. It’s smart to move fast on deals like that, and great to see.

Next up looks to be a new midfielder, and with time ticking now in the window, they might have to continue in that same speed to get targets through the door before the end of the month now.

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