Chelsea have been told that they could succeed in signing Borussia Monchengladbach forward Marcus Thuram with a bid of just €10million.
The France international is nearing the end of his contract at Gladbach, so it could make sense for the Bundesliga club to try to cash in on him while they still can this January.
According to Christian Falk, writing in his exclusive CaughtOffside column, there are reasons Thuram is keen to stay in Germany for a bit longer, but it seems Chelsea could persuade Gladbach to let him go if they offer around €10m for him.
That’s a bargain if the Blues pull it off, with Graham Potter surely in need of further attacking reinforcements, even with the loan signing of Joao Felix.
Thuram is a different style of player, so it could be worth targeting him if he’s available on the cheap, as he’d surely provide the club with an immediate upgrade on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Kai Havertz.
“I heard that Gladbach is still waiting for an offer from Chelsea for Marcus Thuram,” Falk wrote. “Beside Joao Felix, it’s not the same type of striker, so they still need one.
“Gladbach have an idea of selling Thuram for €10m now rather than losing him for free in the summer, then reinvesting the money in a new striker. The offer’s yet to come, of course, and they’re a little bit afraid of Barcelona who have been sweeping up all the available free agents on the market.
“We heard this will be an interesting solution for Thuram, as he doesn’t feel like he has to move at the moment and wants to win the Torjagerkanone (award for Bundesliga’s top goalscorer).
“He’s said he doesn’t have to leave but if Chelsea is bringing €10m to the table, you have to do it.”