Chelsea transfer news: Kalidou Koulibaly remains on radar but Juan Cuadrado and Nemanja Matic will not leave
The latest transfer news and speculation surrounding Stamford Bridge
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Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea manager Antonio Conte will look to press on with his transfer plans after overseeing a 2-0 defeat in his first game in charge at the weekend, with the Blues getting the Italian’s reign off to a losing start against Rapid Vienna.
After announcing a deal to sign N’Golo Kante from Leicester on Saturday for a reported £30m, Chelsea are believed to be chasing up Conte’s interest in a number of players based in Italy, although there is cause for concern at Stamford Bridge with the current first-team squad members linked with summer exits.
The highest priority for Conte remains Chelsea’s defensive issues, and he is expected to continue the pursuit of Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly despite interest from Premier League rivals Everton driving up the Italian club’s asking price.
According to The Telegraph, Everton want to sign Koulibaly as a replacement for John Stones, who they will allow to join Manchester City if a £50m bid or better is received this summer. It’s claimed that Koulibaly would prefer to join Chelsea, but despite a £30m offer being lodged with Napoli earlier this month, the Blues are yet to be given permission to speak to the French-born Senegal international.
The arrival of Kante will not have an impact on Nemanja Matic’s future at Stamford Bridge either, despite the France international being viewed as one of the most important signings for the Blues in recent years.
Kante penned a five-year deal on a reported £150,000-a-week salary after deciding to leave Leicester, and his arrival cast doubt on Matic’s role at the club with former manager Jose Mourinho keen to take the Serbia international to Manchester United.
However, it’s been claimed that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic has personally contacted Matic to request he remains with the club for at least another season, despite suffering a drop in form last term after he impressed during Chelsea’s title-winning campaign in 2014/15.
Another player who will not be leaving Stamford Bridge this summer is Colombia wing Juan Cuadrado, with Conte confirming that he already has plans for the 28-year-old despite the winger spending last season with Juventus on loan after failing to impress Mourinho.
"Juan Cuadrado is a Chelsea player,” Conte said after Saturday’s defeat.
"He will come back very soon. He's in our squad, I'm very happy to have him and train him.
"I wanted him when I was a coach at Juventus and he will come back very soon and train and play with us.
"Now, he's a Chelsea player and he'll stay with us. If something changes you'll know.”
One player who could leave the club though is striker Diego Costa, who is reported to have handed in an official transfer request in an attempt to leave Chelsea and return to Atletico Madrid. The Brazil-born Spain international has endured an up-and-down time at Chelsea, as he proved pivotal in their brilliant run to the title in his maiden year before being one of those accused by the fans of deliberately underperforming to contribute to Mourinho’s sacking last year.
Spanish newspaper AS claims that Costa has asked the club to leave, although Atletico are reluctant to aggravate the situation given their strong working relationship with the Premier League club. Having already signed Belgium international striker Michy Batshuayi and Loic Remy remaining at the club for the time-being, Costa’s future could come down to Chelsea’s interest in Alvaro Morata.
The Blues lead the race to sign the Spain international after he returned to Real Madrid, although they are yet to launch an official move for the 23-year-old. Should their interest lead to a successful pursuit for Morata, Conte could give Costa the green light to leave the club, despite scoring 37 goals in his two years at the club.
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