Here are all your latest football.london Chelsea headlines on Monday, June 20.
Ousmane Dembele transfer truth
Amid the news that Raheem Sterling was Chelsea’s main attacking transfer target this summer, worries had surfaced over what this meant for the proposed free signing of the Thomas Tuchel favourite.
The Frenchmen, who is currently on holiday, indicated his will to a Barcelona supporter of his intentions over the summer transfer window and coupled with these updates, his injury record was something that yet again halted negotiations. However, football.london understands that on top of a potential Sterling purchase, Dembele’s signature is something that is still going to be pursued.
Whether or not Barcelona try and offer their No.7 a new contract once their financial issues die down remains to be seen, but the 25-year-old is still very much on Chelsea’s radar despite the progression made to sign the Man City winger.
READ MORE:Chelsea receive Raheem Sterling transfer boost as Thomas Tuchel ‘big fan’ of Lukaku alternative
Raheem Sterling transfer risk assessed
“The idea that Sterling is a poor finisher is a myth,” Man City writer Alex Brotherton told football.london. “Although it’s true that he is an inconsistent finisher. He’s an attacker whose goals tend to come in bursts, as he relies on confidence. The glaring misses that we’ve seen over the years tend to come during dry spells, whereas when he’s in-form he’s incredibly cool in-front of goal, as we saw for England at Euro 2020.
“He’s also capable of scoring spectacular goals from outside the area, but he has to be in a confident mood for that. When he’s in a bit of a rut, Sterling can be very indecisive in-front of goal, even when bearing down on the goalkeeper.”
Read the full interview piece here.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek Lazio hint
Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s agent Jonathan Barnett has denied that there has been any direct contact yet between Lazio and Chelsea about the midfielder, but hasn’t ruled out the possibilities of a deal happening amid the Blues’ rumoured interest in Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
While rumours continue to surge on Romelu Lukaku and Raheem Sterling, and defensive reinforcements remain a priority, the midfield situation at Chelsea has been on the back burner. Both Jorginho and Loftus-Cheek are said to be weighing up their futures ahead of potential Serie A moves. This is because former Blues manager Maurizio Sarri is reportedly highly keen on signing a player who flourished under his management during their days together in West London. Additionally, Sarri is also hopeful of landing Emerson Palmieri and could even sacrifice Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in the process.
Milinkovic-Savic is a player who the Blues reportedly hold an interest in if a midfielder was to depart their ranks this summer, so talk of a swap deal and even a Lazio negotiator being in London to sound out the possibilities of these deals can come as no surprise. However, those reports may be premature with Loftus-Cheek’s agent Barnett admitting that not contact has been made between the clubs as of yet – but he didn’t rule anything out.
Read on here.