Chelsea could reportedly switch their focus to Villarreal’s Samuel Chukwueze if they miss out to Man Utd in the battle to land Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund.
The Blues are set to bid farewell to both Pedro and Willian as things stand, as the veteran pair will see their respective contracts expire this summer.
A deal has already been confirmed to sign Hakim Ziyech from Ajax and so he would perhaps fill one of the voids left behind, but Frank Lampard may well decide he needs more in that department to be sufficiently covered with enough quality and depth moving forward with a long-term plan in mind.
According to the Sun, via Goal.com, it’s suggested that Dortmund are still demanding £100m+ for Sancho and with Man Utd touted as being in a stronger position to land the England international if he does leave the Bundesliga giants, Chelsea could switch their focus elsewhere.
That in turn could lead them to Chukwueze as an alternative option as per the reports above, with the 21-year-old establishing himself as a key figure for Villarreal having now bagged 12 goals and seven assists in 68 games for the club after coming through the youth ranks.
It’s added that Wilfried Zaha could be priced out of Chelsea’s reach too, while Lyon forward Moussa Dembele is also a target but wouldn’t fix the issue of needing another option out wide unless Lampard is keen to step up competition up top for Tammy Abraham while he does have Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi to come in to play on the wings too.
Time will tell how the situation plays out, but Chelsea could be active this summer despite the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic as they look to add more firepower to the squad to replace possible outgoings.
In the more immediate future though with the Premier League season set to restart next month, Lampard and Chelsea will be fully focused on securing Champions League qualification which could make their push to make key signings much easier given the financial boost it provides as well as the appeal to potential targets of playing on Europe’s biggest stage next season.
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