Welcome to the summer silly season! Chelsea FC were essentially “champions” of this competition, last time out, as they outspent the rest of the world, by a considerable margin, in the last summer transfer window.
Expect Owner Roman Abramovich to greenlight another summer spending spree this time around, so let’s dive straight in with the latest Blues transfer news and notes. Achraf Hakimi has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge this summer, and the latest reports from Sky Italia suggest the west London side club are closing in on his acquisition.
Or at the very least, Chelsea are now ahead of Paris Saint-Germain in the Hakimi derby. So while we’re not “Here We Go” time yet (and still have a ways to go), we are drawing closer. The stellar fullback comes with €80 million asking fee, and in order to bridge the gap between San Siro’s valuation, and what Stamford Bridge is willing to spend, we could see some Chelsea players going the other way.
Inter are interested in Chelsea’s Italian full back Emerson Palmieri, who is also wanted by another Serie A side, Napoli. Additionally, Andreas Christensen (who’s been linked with a move away from Chelsea this summer) could be part of a swap deal/players plus cash deal.
Or Marcos Alonso might be involved, according to The Hard Tackle.
It’s also possible that the two sides do cash only on Hakimi, with a separate negotiation for Palmieri. At this point, a lot is still up in the air.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, 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,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.
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