Talking about the subject of players Chelsea can’t afford to lose out on here in the Football Transfer Tavern this summer, in reality the Blues probably can afford to lose out on them, such is the grandeur of their playing squad at present.
It is very much a case of building upon near perfection for Jose Mourinho and his Blues who will of course want to go all of the way in the Champions League next term after being dumped out by Paris Saint-Germain in 2014/15.
The talk is of Jose Mourinho now creating a dynasty at Stamford Bridge having club hopped in his professional managerial career to date.
If the ever successful Mourinho is to stick around in the Premier League long-term, this could be of huge detriment to the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United who are looking to come again after respective transitional periods, not to mention Manchester City of course.
We’ve grown used to Chelsea dabbling in the transfer market for seemingly the window being open’s sake in recent times with the signings of Mohamed Salah and Juan Cuadrado not truly being essential but instead finishing touches to the jigsaw.
Although these two have failed to hit it off, don’t rule out Jose Mourinho looking to tie up a few more new faces this summer following the signing of Radamel Falcao who is arriving on a season-long loan from Monaco.
Today we have looked at five Blues targets who the Blues cannot afford to miss out on for various reasons this summer.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 transfer targets Chelsea can’t afford to lose out on this summer.
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Raphael Varane
Like a fine wine, it appears John Terry is getting better with age with the former England international having just enjoyed the season of his life, performing more than admirably at the heart of the Blues’ defence.
With the player intent on carrying on at the highest level for as long as he can sustain it, there is still the underlying feeling that Chelsea need to sign somebody to be the heir to Terry’s throne despite Kurt Zouma having arrived last season.
The standout candidate to eventually succeed Terry as the main man in Chelsea’s defence is Real Madrid’s French international defender Raphael Varane with news of his potential availability seemingly changing by the day.
Back in May, Metro suggested Chelsea were launching a £35.8 million bid for Varane amidst his frustration at being selected beneath Pepe at the Bernabeu but more recently, the player has been deemed ‘unsellable’ by Real, that is according to The Express.
If this tact refuses to change, Varane will be staying in the Spanish capital but if this does change throughout the course of the summer – as we have seen on so many occasions before – Chelsea need to be at the front of the queue for a player Mourinho has already worked with of course.
Asmir Begovic
If Petr Cech is to conclude his summer switch to Arsenal as is fully expected by every man and his dog, Chelsea will need to be in the market for a new understudy to current first choice Thibaut Courtois.
There has been a lot of talk that Chelsea need to fulfil their quota of English players with Jose Mourinho potentially plumping for an English understudy in order to do this and QPR’s Robert Green has been linked.
Despite the R’s being relegated last term, Green enjoyed a positive season on a personal note but having grown used to Cech in reserve, our resident Chelsea fans would rather an upgrade on the likes of former West Ham United stopper Green.
They’ll be delighted then that the Blues’ interest in Stoke City’s Asmir Begovic has started to resurface, that is if you believe what you read in the Daily Mail.
As well as reported interest in Green, Chelsea will only allow Cech to move to Arsenal once they’ve managed to land either him or Bosnian international Begovic.
Mark Hughes gave young Jack Butland a run in the Potters team towards the end of last season and if Begovic does indeed fancy a change of scenery after a noteworthy spell at the Britannia Stadium, then Chelsea fans will hope he selects Stamford Bridge as his new home.
Antoine Griezmann
Outside of the superhuman powers that are Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in La Liga, there are a few other standout names who enjoyed fantastic 2014/15 campaigns and one of those names is Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann.
Having enjoyed his first season in the Spanish capital last term after departing Real Sociedad, the French international didn’t disappoint and somewhat replaced Diego Costa’s missing goals by plundering 22 in 37 appearances.
Diego Simeone will of course want to retain his star forward but as he has become accustomed to in recent times, he’ll reportedly have to fight off interest from Chelsea who are keen on landing the player.
Jose Mourinho has already come out and publicly claimed that Griezmann isn’t a player he’s trailing this summer but the Blues boss has been known to tell a few porkies in the past!
With Loic Remy’s future also reportedly unclear, this situation is now forcing the Blues to look at Griezmann, according to The Express.
In terms of not being able to afford to lose out on Griezmann’s potential signature, we have seen in the rare fixtures in which Chelsea are struggling that too much of a burden is put on Eden Hazard’s shoulders to yield creativity going forward.
The addition of Griezmann would lessen this pressure while of course adding more goals to the Blues’ haul, a frightening prospect really.
Samuel Umtiti
As alluded to on our first slide, if Raphael Varane’s situation in Real Madrid does not change over the course of the summer and he is to remain at the Bernabeu, Chelsea will be forced to look elsewhere for reliable defensive reinforcements.
One player who has been linked with the Blues of late is Lyon’s up-and-coming centre half / full back Samuel Umtiti.
A French Under-21 international like current Chelsea star Kurt Zouma, Umtiti is destined for a big future in the game and is most definitely one of Lyon’s prized assets at present.
Chelsea have also been reportedly looking at Atletico Madrid’s Miranda but in recent times, you have noticed that the Blues are signing younger players who can perform at Stamford Bridge for long periods of time.
Umtiti fits that category and The Express claim Jose Mourinho has long-term designs on partnering him with Zouma going forward.
This pairing could easily be France’s first choice defensive duo for years to come to boot so forging it at the domestic level is an interesting prospect.
Watch this space.
Axel Witsel
Another transfer target who has been linked with Chelsea more recently is Zenit Saint-Petersburg’s Belgian international midfielder Axel Witsel.
While the Blues of course boast a star studded first choice midfield pairing of Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas, the consensus amongst Chelsea fans is that the reserve options behind these two could still be improved upon.
With John Obi Mikel and Ramires representing the reserve options, this pair aren’t totally relied upon by the majority of the Blues fanbase in the very toughest fixtures and they agree that the signing of Witsel could improve this area.
The player most Chelsea fans crave is Juventus’ Paul Pogba but given the Frenchman’s astronomical asking price, it is unlikely that he’ll be rocking up at Stamford Bridge this summer.
If Mourinho is to improve his central midfield options, he could do a lot worse than Witsel who has been highly rated for a few seasons now and of course played with Matic during their time spent together at Benfica.
An effective partnership at Estadio da Luz, Chelsea fans would be keen on a reunion between the pair but Manchester United are also keeping close tabs according to The Mirror.
