Chelsea are reportedly hoping to complete a transfer U-turn in the coming months as they seek advice over how they can keep Saul Niguez in west London past the summer.
The Spanish midfielder arrived on loan from Atletico Madrid in 2020 but has failed to hold down a regular spot in the Chelsea team as his spell at the club got off to a slow start despite lofty expectations.
The Blues were not initially said to be keen on converting Saul’s loan into a permanent move, with a clause in his contract giving Chelsea first refusal if they wanted to purchase him.
A pre-agreed fee of around £30million is expected to be the price needed to buy the midfielder, with a reported deadline of May 30 needed for the club to communicate their decision to Atletico.
But Chelsea’s ongoing off-field problems complicate the deal somewhat, which is why the club are seeking clarification to see if they can sign Saul despite the restrictions on their ability to buy and sell new players.
Blues manager Thomas Tuchel recently praised Saul for his improvement within the team and his commitment to bettering his English skills.
“I think he will be an important player for us and I hope so as well. He has shown what he can do with his abilities,” said the German coach.
"I see more confidence in him with each game, he is in good shape and his adaptation to the way we play has gone further from before.
"You can see this in his game now. He is more open, he understands the language better now and these are all important things to consider when talking about Saul and how much he has improved recently.
"He is having much more impact on games than he was doing at the beginning of the season and this is very important."
Elsewhere, Chelsea’s predicament means they are now more likely to lose a number of key players this summer when their contracts expire.
Antonio Rudiger, Andrea Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta will all see their deals in west London run out in a few months time and could now be free to walk away from the club for nothing.
Chelsea are unable to continue contract negotiations with the players due to the sanctions placed upon them by the UK Government, lining the exit path from Stamford Bridge for the trio of defenders.
