Sources: Business continues as Chelsea approach agent of potential new striker

Movements are starting to happen now despite the chaos

Chelsea’s plans for the summer transfer window are well underway now, and movements are starting to happen.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the end of the season and the assessments and reviews that the club owners will be making on everyone involved in the project; manager, directors, and all, Chelsea simply have to press ahead with their summer recruitment plans regardless.

The sporting directors are still heading up the recruitment and are still assessing a number of different players and options for a vast array of positions that the club could look to improve this summer, with the main focus staying on a new striker.

Some at the club believe that Chelsea might need and could even push to bring TWO new strikers, with club insiders also feeling similar to us, that Nicolas Jackson can and could play as a left winger moving forward.

Mauricio Pochettino has even alluded to this in his latest press conference before the Aston Villa game, suggesting that it is something that is very much being though about within the club right now. For me it’s a no brainer.

Pochettino on Jackson playing on the left wing: “In the future, yes [he can play on the left]. He’s a player who can play there."

Chelsea want at least one new striker this summer though, and I understand that early agent contact has taken place with those who look after the business of RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko, and this one is now being described to me as ‘progressing’.

The 20-year-old has a release clause around £40m this summer and all Chelsea would have to do is agree terms with the player and then trigger the clause - they would likely try and stagger the fee in instalments to something that suits them, which would be the only negotiation needed on the club side. But at £40m, they could probably just trigger it in full if needed and other clubs came in for him.

Sesko has 14 goals in 38 appearances so far for Leipzig this season and to be honest, would still be seen as a raw signing. Chelsea though, have been watching him solidly for the last two seasons and he was even watched under the former ownership.

This is just early groundwork for Chelsea on Sesko, and I understand that they are still looking at a host of different strikers, so it’s not a case of Sesko now becoming the main target yet, and as I say, there is a belief that Chelsea could even target two strikers - heavily dependent on other circumstances and situations.

The 28-cap Slovenian international is certainly more the centre forward profile that we need and lack, standing at 6ft 5in tall. But he does also carry a big risk. I’m not against signing him, and I believe this is a case of Chelsea seeing an opportunity to pick up a top young striker for a good fee, which is actually quite smart.

We will have to wait and see if this does go anywhere, but at the moment, it’s just initial agent contact doing some due diligence, seeing if the player would be interested and what sort of wages they could agree on. We’ll see if anything develops further, but he’s certainly now a real one to watch for us this summer.

A word on Darwin Nunez of Liverpool. I exclusively reported Chelsea were keen last summer and made a late approach to sign him. Fabrizio Romano has recently confirmed this news, finally! Personally, I cannot see this one sparking back up and I haven’t heard anything at all on us still being keen since last summer, so I suspect this one is dead and buried for now.

Simon Phillips