Some random bits of midfielder updates
Some stuff I've been told on Barkley, Drinkwater, Gallagher, Kante, Jorginho, Bakayoko, Niguez, and Locatelli
Hello darkness our old friends, and by darkness I mean Danny Drinkwater, Ross Barkley, and Tiemoue Bakayoko still being Chelsea players and still re-joining pre-season training with us in the 2021/22 season!
I don’t want to be overly harsh, Barkley and Bakayoko are not bad players at all, and even Drinkwater would do a job at the right team (way down the league!). However, all three should have been sold by Chelsea some time ago, especially Barkley and Drinkwater with their off-field antics.
However, as we know, they are on big wages and are hard players to sell. Bakayoko is the most sought-after, but here are some midfielder updates via information I’ve been reliably given over the past week or so.
Ross Barkley -
I understand that Newcastle and Chelsea are in talks for the permanent move of Barkley this summer, and at the moment talks have been positive. Nothing advanced yet, but this is a deal to keep an eye on. West Ham are also very keen.
Danny Drinkwater -
Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t have as much interest, but he knows he wont be in Chelsea’s squad this season and his agent has been told to look for opportunities.
Tiemoue Bakayoko -
His agent has been in talks with Napoli and AC Milan, and there are other teams interested as well. Nothing advanced yet and Chelsea will need to drop their asking price a little, but I think they will meet somewhere in the middle.
Conor Gallagher -
I’ve been told that Thomas Tuchel will make a final decision on him this week, and the expectation is that he will go on a Premier League loan. Crystal Palace and Leeds United have held positive talks with his reps over a loan move this season.
N’Golo Kante and Jorginho -
As I reported on here some weeks ago now, both players’ agents have been in slow talks with Chelsea over signing new contract extensions. There is no rush for any party to get anything signed, but the responses have been positive from all sides so far and both are expected to sign new deals.
Saul Niguez -
As I’ve mentioned on here a number of times recently and on the Podcast, Chelsea have a genuine interest in signing Saul Niguez. I was told this week that they have held at least two sets of positive talks with his agent over the last couple of months. Nothing advanced yet. Plenty of clubs interested and talking with his agent.
Manuel Locatelli -
Why is he here? Random I know. But I was told in the middle of the week that Chelsea had/have been considering making a move to sign the Italian international this summer. But there have been no moves yet from us, and it looks like he has his heart set on Juventus and a deal with them looks very close. But Chelsea had been considering an approach, I’d be surprised if they moved now though at this late stage.
Simon Phillips