Here are the Chelsea morning headlines for Wednesday, August 26.
Emerson Palmieri price tag set
Chelsea are facing a big squad restructure programme this summer, with several big-name additions linked and a couple already sealed.
In turn, they want good money to take their current squad players away from Stamford Bridge — including Emerson Palmieri. The left-back has never really established himself as a starter, but the 26-year-old won’t be leaving on the cheap.
Goal.com report that the Blues want £26million for him, with Inter Milan the side rumoured to be leading the chase for his signature.
Ben Chilwell is expected to arrive soon to fill the left-back spot on a more regular basis.
Four deals close to completion
Chilwell isn’t the only one Chelsea should be welcoming in the coming days.
Four deals in total could be completed in short order, with three defenders and one attacker on the agenda this week for the Stamford Bridge club.
Chilwell could be joined as a first-team option by Thiago Silva, who is out of contract and leaving Paris St Germain now that the Champions League is over, reports Sky Sports, while versatile French defender Malang Sarr could also join on a free.
He would be loaned out again though, to ensure his development continues if he signs for the Blues.
Finally, the long-running chase for Kai Havertz could be over, with the Bayer Leverkusen attacker set to complete his move to Chelsea.
Messi departure backed as fans clamour for Chelsea move
The big news in the football world on Tuesday came with the announcement that Lionel Messi wants to leave Barcelona.
Every club in the world would have him, but few will be able to afford the Argentinian icon.
He was quickly linked to Premier League clubs and Chelsea supporters demanded the club go all-out for the attacker.
The state of Barcelona was summed up by the fact former captain Carles Puyol tweeted his support of Messi’s decision to leave, while current striker Luis Suarez also backed the decision with a pair of applause emojis in response to Puyol.
There’s naturally going to be a lot more fallout and back-and-forth between all parties before this situation is resolved, but every supporter would love to see Messi play for their team after only donning the Barcelona blue-and-red for the entirety of his club career so far.
