Chelsea have held internal talks about the signing of a £70 million Premier League forward, as the Blues look to back new head coach Enzo Maresca further.
Chelsea target new attackers after busy early transfer window
The west Londoners have undergone another busy transfer window thus far, having spent north of £90 million already on Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Guiu, Omari Kellyman, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Brazilian starlet Estevao Willian and Renato Veiga.
Chelsea considering deal for £20 million striker with 148 career goals
The west Londoners could sign a prolific new target man for Maresca.
ByEmilio Galantini
The six fresh faces set Todd Boehly back around £93 million, according to BBC journalist Nizaar Kinsella, but the Blues' sales of Ian Maatsen, Omari Hutchinson and Lewis Hall have brought in £89 million to balance the books.
Their net spent, when taking into account the departures, comes in at around £4 million and allows Chelsea to invest further in Maresca's squad. One of their transfer priorities, according to recent reports, is bringing in a new right-footed winger who can compete with the likes of Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke.
This has lead to serious rumoured interest in Borussia Dortmund forward Karim Adeyemi. The 22-year-old, who racked up seven goal contributions in 34 appearances across all competitions for Dortmund last term, could also be available for just £25 million.
Chelsea could even replace Sterling with Adeyemi, as they plan to offer the German a seven-year contract and make a formal bid for his services according to CaughtOffside.
Appearances
81
Goals
19
Assists
12
Yellow cards
13
Red cards
0
Minutes played
5,321
via Transfermarkt
While Adeyemi could be available at a decent price, that hasn't stopped Chelsea from considering more ambitious alternatives to the winger from closer to home. Indeed, Wolves winger Pedro Neto is attracting interest from Chelsea as one option, and it is believed they're keeping tabs on Brighton star Kaoru Mitoma.
The Japan international, a right-footed winger who plays on the left, has seriously impressed during his time at the Amex – bagging 13 goals and 13 assists in 67 appearances across all competitions.
Mitoma is one of Brighton's superstar players and reports claim it could take an offer of around £70 million for the Seagulls to even consider parting company.
Chelsea chiefs talk about signing Mitoma behind-the-scenes
According to journalist Ben Jacobs, speaking on the London is Blue podcast (via TBR), Chelsea chiefs have talked about making a move for Mitoma behind the scenes – which is "interesting" when taking into account that he's a non-traditional transfer target.
“I’ve mentioned Mitoma before. That was just an internal discussion," said Jacobs.
"So Brighton are yet to receive any approach. But it’s sort of interesting. Mitoma’s older, he breaks the mold a little bit, but he could be dropped straight in and have an impact in the Premier League."
The 27-year-old's brilliant form for Brighton makes him a very intriguing possibility, but Boehly may have to part with big money to make a deal happen. Chelsea and Brighton's fruitful business relationship has been evident in recent years, though, with a host of players and backroom staff going to and from.
