Chelsea, led by chairman Todd Boehly, are now "vying" to sign a World Cup-winning star in the January transfer window.
The high-profile stars linked with Chelsea
Boehly, assisted by co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, is reportedly turning his attention to the winter market after splashing out close to £400 million on new signings in the summer.
Chelsea are currently mid-table and on a fairly inconsistent run of form, having picked up impressive results against the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and Man City only to be humbled by Man United, Brentford and Newcastle.
Important Chelsea chief now really wants to sign similar star to Nkunku
There is a real need for him.
ByEmilio GalantiniDec 7, 2023
Manager Mauricio Pochettino has a very large squad of stars to pick from and you could argue it is a real challenge for the Argentine to gel them together in perfect unison.
Despite this, there are still some areas which could use improvement – namely at centre-back and going forward. Thiago Silva could leave at the end of this Premier League season, prompting reports that Chelsea are interested in Jonathan Tah of Bayer Leverkusen as one option to replace the Brazilian.
Meanwhile, in terms of strikers, a big name linked with moving to Stamford Bridge is Napoli star Victor Osimhen. The Nigerian is rumoured to be a top target for Boehly and Pochettino, with Osimhen emerging as a key Chelsea transfer target.
The Blues have also gathered quite a reputation for buying young stars since Clearlake Capital's acquisition, and there is another who Chelsea are pretty fond of.
Chelsea "vying" to sign Almada
According to reports out of Spain, Chelsea are vying to sign Atlanta United star Thiago Almada in January. The Argentine, who was a member of his nation's World Cup-winning squad last year, is attracting serious interest from Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle United as the English quartet all chase his signature.
Chelsea view Almada as a player who's "perfect" for their long-term project. The 22-year-old has enjoyed a breakout season in the MLS this year, scoring a brilliant 13 goals and assisting 16 others to boot.
"Thiago’s talent is incredible, it's amazing," teammate Giorgos Giakoumakis said (via 90min).
"His ability, his vision is amazing. It's all about his ambition and where he wants to end up. If he wants to make the next step, it will be up to him. If not, he will be one of our leaders in Atlanta and I'm really happy I've shared the field with him."
Almada's next move will be an intriguing development to follow as he looks to be one of the most promising young players out of Argentina right now.
Through balls
Key passes
Dribbling
Long shots
In a possible boost for Chelsea, Almada has made it clear he wants to go to Europe, namedropping the Premier League as one of his preferred landing spots.
“I want to leave, I want to go play in Europe. I feel like leaving now,” he said to ESPN (via AS).
"If I have to choose, I would like to play the Premier League or the Spanish league, but either."