The next edition of the London derby, when Chelsea hosts Arsenal, is just a few days away. We’ll start our previews for that in the next couple of days, but for now some transfer talk, covering two players who could be on the move soon- Ian Maatsen and Trevoh Chalobah. Let’s start with Maatsen, who is reportedly wanted by FC Barcelona, according to reports in Spain. (side note: for our latest edition of Barca transfer talk go here) The Spanish reports have since been picked up by the Daily Mail, who recall another team that was in for Maatsen back in the summer.
That would be Burnley, who bid 13.5 million GBP for the 21-year-old Dutchman during the summer window.
Maatsen turned it down in order to stay and fight for his place at Chelsea. However, it is now looking more and more likely that he isn’t a major part of the grand plan. And thus, he should move on. If not the Catalan Club, then another destination where the defender actually slots into the grand plan.
Stamford Bridge rates him at about 17 million GBP in their valuation.
Elsewhere Trevoh Chalobah is looking for another destination where he could get regular first team football.
While we don’t know for certain where that might be, Bayern Munich is probably at the top of the list. According to a report in Sky Sports, Bayern Munich were in talks to sign the Freetown, Sierra Leonne native on a £50m deal this past summer, but no agreement was reached.
For Trevoh Chalobah, it would definitely be best if he moved on as it’s clear that the new manager, Mauricio Pochettino, simply doesn’t rate him. He got a lot more tick under Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard. The 6-4 defensive midfielder and central defender has not made an appearance yet this season with the Blues, after featuring 25 times last season.
We covered this narrative in more detail over at this link.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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