Chelsea have found a new secret weapon to help them win the transfer battle with Manchester City to secure RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol.
The Blues tried to negotiate an £85million deal in the latter stages of the summer transfer window but the Bundesliga side, as they did with Christopher Nkunku, managed to sign the Croatian defender to a new and improved contract. Todd Boehly decided to shelve the plans until at least January as his priorities towards deadline day were recruiting a new midfielder and striker. Eventually, Denis Zakaria and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were signed to satisfy then-manager Thomas Tuchel.
However, with the 2023 January and summer transfer window the next opportunities for the ownership group to show the ambition that was promised to Roman Abramovich during the takeover talks, new signings for the next few transfer windows are being actively considered. Moises Caicedo and Benjamin Sesko are two players reportedly hot on Graham Potter's wishlist but his stance on Gvardiol remains unknown with Boehly and the higher-ups keen in driving the initial interest when Tuchel was advising them.
READ MORE: Josko Gvardiol Chelsea bid rejected as Blues sweat over Manchester City transfer deadline
But if Potter was to decide a new defender was a must, Gvardiol could be one of the names at the top of the hit list. Alongside Mateo Kovacic and others who have given the 20-year-old the seal of approval already, a former Blue could help his ex-club in securing the big-money signing.
As noticed on Reddit, Timo Werner, who has enjoyed his return to Germany with Leipzig so far, has posted a picture with the defender, and Chelsea fans have a theory to explain why they believe Boehly has a huge advantage over Man City.
Here is some of the best reaction from a selection of the Chelsea fanbase.
@Grim9980 wrote: 'The real reason we sent him back.'
@cfcla worries: 'Gvardiol hasn't been good post his return from injury.'
@PickledHotChocolate reckons: 'I like to think Timo only has nice things to say about us.'
@BabyKevin997 said: 'DOF timo at work?'
On the other hand, some supporters are not in favour of seeing such big money spent on defensive recruitments, especially with most of the £250million plus spent on the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella respectively.
@techmaniac97 worries: 'Why do we need to spend 90-100 million on a centre back when we have other areas that need serious improvements?'
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