Now that Mykhaylo Mudryk has been unveiled as a Chelsea player, one of this winter’s great transfer sagas comes to its unexpected end. But will that stop Chelsea under Todd Boehly spending like Viv Nicholson? The answer is very probably not.
An offer of £26.5m for PSV Eindhoven winger Noni Madueke is still on the table, and spending what could reach a €100m fee on Mudryk has not prevented interest in signing Enzo Fernández from Benfica or Moises Caicedo from Brighton, even if both deals will be difficult to pull off. Raheem Sterling, who cost almost £50m last summer but has struggled since may be shipped out. As yet, no takers are forthcoming.
Another player they’d like to jettison is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with Barcelona wanting him back to support Robert Lewandowski. The problem is that La Liga transfer window regulations may kibosh that deal. Aubameyang has already played for Barça this season and the previous precedent was Dani Ceballos being prevented from going on loan to Betis from Real Madrid five years ago having already played earlier that season as a full-time Betis player. The Spanish club are seeking further complications in doing one of those swap deals you hear about but only happen at Barça. Franck Kessié on loan in exchange for Internazionale’s Croatian World Cup star Marcelo Brozovic is the proposal.
With Mudryk off the table, Arsenal are still looking for someone to bolster their forward line. Leandro Trossard, who left the UK on Friday after a row with Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi, is a possibility, and out of contract this summer. On Saturday De Zerbi said he was willing to end hostilities: “I am ready to open the door for him because he is a good guy and he is a very good player for us, very important player.” Tottenham are another club linked with Trossard. Mikel Arteta’s club are elsewhere linked with Raphinha and Ferran Torres of Barcelona as it becomes clear Gabriel Jesus will be out for a while yet. Raphinha will cost almost as much as Mudryk, according to reports in Spain. Another possibility is Luiz Henrique of Real Betis, who Manchester United also want to add to their collection of wingers. And there’s an old favourite, too: Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, who would cost Arsenal £71m, having been their big target 12 months ago but failed to settle in Turin.
The Trossard development came after Brighton’s hammering of Liverpool on Saturday, and that result, and dreadful performance, may be the end of a couple of players’ time at Anfield. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was an ineffectual starter on the left of the attack while Naby Keïta came on as an ineffectual sub. Any takers? Liverpool hope so, and want Rúben Neves from Wolves. It wouldn’t be the transfer window without Neves being linked to one of Liverpool or United.
Wolves, with Julen Lopetegui presiding over a revival, want to spend, and Pablo Sarabia of PSG, the Spanish international, available at a cut-price, is wanted. A deal for João Gomes, the Brazilian from Flamengo, is imminent, too.
Leicester, who seem to be going in the opposite direction to Wolves, are also looking to add to their squad, but Nicolás González, the Argentinian forward, is not for sale, say Fiorentina. And neither is World Cup star Sofyan Amrabat, who has been linked with filling the vacuum that has lately become Liverpool’s midfield.
