Chelsea rounded off their pre-season on Saturday with their second win in a few days against Udinese.
On the pitch, things are starting to look a little more brighter since Thomas Tuchel came out with his 'urgent' appeal after the Arsenal thrashing. Now, with two more pre-season wins under the belt, confidence is starting to build ahead of Everton.
However, off the pitch, things still need to happen as only Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly are the only men's first team recruits. New owner Todd Boehly will have to add more strength and depth if the Blues are to seriously challenge Manchester City or Liverpool in the Premier League this season. With this in mind, football.london takes a look at the latest Blues transfer rumours on Sunday, July 31.
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Chelsea eye £120million Inter Milan swoop
Over the last 24 hours, there has been a lot of speculation regarding the two clubs that are reportedly in negotiations with each other regarding an exciting wonderkid.
The Blues are said to have had a bid for Cesare Casadei rejected as talks continue, but recent developments hint that numerous players could be added into current negotiations between the two clubs.
Initially, the Italian media worried that Boehly could ask for Denzel Dumfries in Casadei talks and if he was to do this, Inter would quote him £34million.
Now, PSG are set to walk away from Milan Skriniar talks. This could potentially encourage Chelsea to make a £68million play for the centre-back, and thus Inter could be on to making around £120million from three player sales if Boehly and his new board are serious about getting deals done.
Kalidou Koulibaly 'irreplaceable'
The Senegalese put in a well-rounded performance on Friday night in Udine. One that manager Tuchel credited post-match alongside Sterling's outing which also received plaudits.
"He is a very, very good signing. A strong personality, a strong player. I am happy that he could play 70 minutes now. He’s getting fitter and fitter which is very important for us for the start of the season," Tuchel said post-match on the 31-year-old.
Napoli have gone on to replace their now former leader with ex-Spurs target Kim Min-jae. The South Korean is under no illusion of the huge void he has to now fill and in his first press conference since moving to Southern Italy, made a huge Koulibaly claim which will put a big smile on Chelsea supporters' faces.
“I cannot take his place. But I can say that I will my best to play but I don’t know if I will be able to completely replace him. He's irreplaceable," he said via Football Italia.
Kepa Arrizabalaga to Napoli close as Blues demand small loan fee
The Spanish goalkeeper has had very limited pre-season minutes with his last outing coming on Saturday morning in the training game against Udinese. He didn't play the first team game the night before.
The most expensive shot-stopper in the world has ambitions of playing at the Qatar World Cup and he feels he needs to move elsewhere temporarily to fulfil this dream.
Gianluca Di Marzio has reported that Napoli are closing in on a loan deal for the former Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper. It's a deal which will see the west Londoners' pay 75% of his salary. Interestingly enough, the Daily Mail have reported that Boehly has only asked for a £1.25million loan fee from the Naples-based club before he gives the deal the final 'green light' which is expected soon.
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