Chelsea will take on Championship side Barnsley FC in the fifth round of the FA Cup tomorrow night, and ahead of the match there is a whole lot of news and transfer talk.
Go here for the link to the news round-up post. When it comes to transfer talk, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was asked at his prematch news conference about the narratives linking his club with Borussia Dortmund scoring sensation Erling Haaland and centreback supreme Dayot Upamecano.
Chelsea at Barnsley FC FA Cup 5th Round FYIs
Kickoff: Thurs, Feb 11, 8pm GMT, Oakwell
Chelsea Team News: go here
Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction: go here
As expected, he would not get draw into specifics on that. Nor should he, as talking up the transfer target, only increases the sale price.
“I am also always a fan and interested in what is going on,” Tuchel responded.
“But now is February. There is a long way to go. As you know me or maybe get to know me better, I will not talk about other players publicly when they are under contract.
“This is the kind of respect we show to them but show first of all to our players. We think about our central defenders and our strikers first and we push them to the limits. Everything else will be decided behind closed doors.”
In regards to Haaland, 20, the Norwegian has been linked to Stamford Bridge, but also to the Etihad Stadium, with a big money bidding war likely to break out this summer. Despite their financial woes, Real Madrid have also been linked, and they may indeed be in the mix as well.
According to Eurosport, Chelsea will be part of the pursuit, which could end up netting BVB a fee in the region of £100 million [$138.5 million]. Like Tuchel said, it’s a long way to go until the summer transfer window opens, but as of now, City are thought to be favored.
That’s because Sergio Aguero will see his contract soon expire, and Pep Guardiola will be looking for a new primary scorer to replace him.
If BVB sell Haaland, they’ll probably hold on to Jadon Sancho or vice versa. It’s not likely they’ll sell both this summer, unless their financial situation really turns south. That said, they’re in danger of mising out on European football altogether next season, given the really poor season they are having, so a sell-off could be in the the cards.
If Dortmund miss out on Champions League football, and the revenue it brings, then all options could be on the table.
German outlet Sport 1 claims that Dortmund are expecting to sell Sancho this summer to a Premier League club, and Chesea are strongly linked. As is Manchester United, but we have, of course, heard this song before.
Sancho to United didn’t happen last summer, despite approximately 300,000 reports saying it would, so it remains to be seen how realistic it will actually be next summer window. It’s possible the Old Trafford have already decided that Amad Diallo is their alternative?
Speaking of players in Germany who have been linked with United, RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano is wanted by two Premier League clubs, and Bayern Munich, according to Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, CEO of the club.
Those two clubs are said to be Chelsea and Liverpool.
“In addition to Bayern Munich, there are at least two quite attractive clubs interested [in Upamecano],” Bayern’s CEO told Sky Germany.
“The fact is that the player is interesting, and the fact is that we will almost certainly lose David Alaba in that position. I can’t say if there will be other departures in that position.
You have to let things grow in peace. We have a good relationship with Mr Volker Struth [Upamecano’s agent]. The player will know what he wants at some point. We have a good relationship with RB Leipzig as well. I have had a conversation with Oliver Mintzlaff [Red Bull GmbH Global Head of Soccer].
“When things become concrete, we’ll talk again.”
There have been conflicting reports about how interested Chelsea really are, or are not, when it comes to David Alaba.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “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, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.