London Club Chelsea Football Club has taken the hint, and the club is set to bolster its squad. From there they’ll travel to the United States for their opening game in the Club World Cup on June 16 in Atlanta. With major changes on the horizon, the club recognizes the need to secure a new forward as current player Christopher Nkunku is likely to depart this summer.
So the club has apparently trained its sights solely on signing one €100 million player, around £84 million. One piece of Chelsea’s approach to recruitment is to focus on signing young, developing talents and rewarding them with long-term, incentivized contracts. Over the long term, this approach indicates the club’s broader focus to creating a sustainable, future-oriented roster.
Chelsea are up against very strong competition from Manchester United and Newcastle United in the race for this forward. The club’s senior executives have come up with a shortlist of players on the rise. It carries a high ceiling with prospects like Liam Delap, Benjamin Sesko, Hugo Ekitike, and Viktor Gyokeres. All three candidates are interesting, but they bring different qualities that could fit into Chelsea’s hopes for a new-look attacking third.
One of the Bundesliga commencement’s prime targets is Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike, 22. Chelsea have been widely reported to be currently in deep discussions with a view to bringing him aboard for the coming seasons. To complicate Chelsea’s pursuit even further, Liverpool has made a move for Ekitike too — putting them in direct competition with the Blues.
Liam Delap, the other premier target, just turned 22 and has useful Premier League experience of 20 starts and 29 substitute appearances under his belt. He’s got a £30 million release clause. That could smooth his own exit amid what is widely believed to be a hot summer transfer market. Unlike in past years, the window opens much earlier this year. This allows clubs the opportunity to alter things accordingly ahead of FIFA’s excitingly expanded Club World Cup.
Chelsea’s head coach Enzo Maresca and recruitment co-director Joe Shields have a considerable connection with Delap from their time together at Manchester City’s academy. Such familiarity may provide Chelsea an unfair advantage in the negotiations. The club is keen to finalize its targets swiftly, as the transfer window opens on Sunday for a ten-day period, with Chelsea planning to ramp up their recruitment efforts following Wednesday’s match.
Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea are said to be keen on Ekitike and Delap. They’re monitoring Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres, further demonstrating the club’s smart planning to buy forwards that fit in with their broader long-term aims.
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