Tchouameni, Johnstone, Kounde, Varane, Kepa, Loftus-Cheek, Giroud, Bakayoko, and Gilmour

Weekly exclusive transfer updates for S&DTC by CFCNewsPage!

Welcome back to the second instalment of our weekly transfer updates exclusively written for you by proven Chelsea insider, CFCNewsPage from Instagram (make sure to follow him here).

Here is this weeks report..

Goalkeeper update -

Sam Johnstone

Chelsea have identified West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Sam Johnstone as a potential backup to Edouard Mendy.

The England international has one-year left on his current contract with WBA and wants to play top-flight football again following West Brom's relegation to the Championship.

Chelsea see this as a potential opportunity to get a good deal. However, Sam Johnstone wants to be number one keeper and not a number 2, as he wants to have strong chances of maintaining his England spot in the squad.

Chelsea are trying to convince him by using the factor of Mendy being at AFCON in January which would see Chelsea's number one miss a handful of games. 

Note from Simon Phillips - “It’s great to see us having some of the same information, as I reported our interest in Johnstone on the Podcast last week. This also strengthens the reliability of this information.”

This then leads on to Kepa Arrizabalaga's situation, who can leave Chelsea this summer. The Spain international has lost his spot in the Spain squad due to a lack of game-time according to Spain boss Luis Enrique.

Obviously Kepa wants to change this and is open to opportunities. Lazio are interested in Kepa which could see him reunite with former blues coach Maurizio Sarri. Sarri's goalkeeper coach (Massimo Nenci) has always been a huge fan of Kepa. 

Lazio would like to sign him on a loan with a potential option to buy. However, Kepa's wages remain a problem. He currently earns £150,000 a week. If Chelsea are to offload this summer on loan, they would have to pay 50% of his wages. 

Centre back targets

Raphael Varane

As I mentioned last week, Varane is Thomas Tuchel's number one CB target.

However, he is another player (like Ramos) who is demanding high wages. I've seen some reports in the last week about Varane wanting 400k a week, but I'm told this isn't the case and would consider demanding around 250k a week which is still crazy money and would likely cause a lot of tension behind the scenes with all our defenders earning a lot less than this.

As of now, Manchester United are the club most likely to try to do a deal for the Real Madrid defender. 

Jules Kounde

The Sevilla centre back is another player who is on Chelsea's list of wanted defenders. The Frenchman has a release clause worth 80m euros but is expected to leave for a lesser sum. There are many big Premier League clubs, however, there is nothing advanced with Chelsea yet. Just interest and a close eye on the situation.

Note from Simon Phillips - “I can also vouch for this one, having written a report on our interest in Kounde just this morning, you can check that out here.”

Midfielder updates

Aurelien Tchouameni 

As we have known for a while, Chelsea hold an interest in Monaco midfielder Tchouameni and the wheels are in motion.

I'm told Petr Cech admires the player and is the main driving force behind this. In fact, there is a meeting planned with his agent in the next few weeks. He is seen as the cheaper alternative to Declan Rice. 

Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Thomas Tuchel and his coaching staff admire Loftus-Cheek and will keep a close eye on him this pre-season. He has a good chance of being involved with the first- team for the coming season. 

Outgoings 

Olivier Giroud - Talks are progressing with AC Milan and Oliver Giroud and it is getting closer. Giroud has already agreed personal terms with Milan. If Milan pay the fee Chelsea want (which is reportedly around 5m euros), then Olivier Giroud's medical will take place after the Euros. 

Tiemoue Bakayoko - Thomas Tuchel likes Bakayoko's profile, however Bakayoko only has one-year left on his contract and Chelsea see this as a strong opportunity to move him on. this summer. AC Milan are interested in re-signing the Frenchman and Bakayoko likes the idea. Thomas Tuchel also prefers the qualities of Loftus-Cheek. 

Billy Gilmour - As many have reported, Billy Gilmour is set to join Norwich City on a season- long loan. Medicals should take place towards the end of the week. This move was recommended by Thomas Tuchel as he has a strong relationship with Norwich City manager, Daniel Farke, following their time together at Borussia Dortmund. 

By CFCNewsPage exclusively for Si & Dan Talk Chelsea.