Rumour reel: champions Chelsea in crisis
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Blues need new faces, and fast
The first weekend of the Premier League season is in the books and the main talking point on Monday morning is the level of investment needed in the Chelsea squad. The general feeling seems to be – an awful lot. The lightweight champions were beaten by Burney in a five-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The latest instalment of our football transfers rumour reel column brings you the top stories from the transfer window, including what’s going on at Chelsea, as well as the other leading names in Benglish football. Time is running out for deals to be made this summer – any business must be done by end of play on Thursday 31st August.
Lightweight blues back in for Drinkwater
Antonio Conte will be furious at the way his club have handled their business during the summer, and how they started the new season. That 3-2 defeat to Burnley at home was a real shock, but there was no getting away from how vulnerable The Blues looked with a couple of key players out injured. If the champions are to fight on all fronts – Premier League, Champions League and domestic cups – they’ll need three to five squad players to help fill the gaps. They’ll get moving on that by submitting a second bid for Leicester midfielder Danny Drinkwater. A bid of £15m was turned down, with an improved offer of £25m for the 27-year-old expected to be sent in early this week.
Liverpool line-up Coutinho replacement
Barcelona are inching closer to the capture of Liverpool favourite Philippe Coutinho. The player wants to go and the club have the money to pay for him, so it now looks a matter of Liverpool getting the most money they can out of it, softening the blow for fans. The La Liga kings will return with a revised bid of £100m for the 25-year-old attacking midfielder, and that will surely get things moving in the right direction. The Reds – who drew 3-3 with Watford on Saturday – have wasted no time lining up a replacement, and are ready to bid for Italian scorer Lorenzo Insigne. A graduate of the Napoli academy, he won’t come to England on the cheap.
Spurs to splash the cash
Tottenham fans have waited all summer for their club to do something in the transfer window, but the Wembley based side finally appear to be ready to swoop on a big name, and it’ll be worth the wait. Fans and players have been disappointed with the lack of new faces through the door, but Mauricio Pochettino is about to finally crack open the cheque book and spend £85m on three players. A bid of £20m for Ajax defender Davinson Sanchez will get the ball rolling, but they may need to increase that, especially as we’re well into August. Ajax have watched on as English top-flight clubs have thrown money around over the last month, and there has been whispers in the Dutch press that Ajax may hold out for £35m. Despite only being 21, Sanchez has already broken into the Columbian national team, and was voted into Ajax’s team of the year last season.
