Welcome to the heights (or depths) of the summer silly season, as the major international tournaments are now over. It’s all preseason friendlies and transfer window talk for the next month, until the season begins. Let’s take a look at the latest narratives churning in the Chelsea transfer rumor mill.
Let’s start with the much maligned Timo Werner, who could be set for a move back to his native country and the Bundesliga. Football Insider claims that new Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann is a big fan of the 25-year-old striker and that Chelsea would be open to selling.
Werner moved over last summer from RB Leipzig with a ton of hoopla, as the Blues bested Liverpool to acquire his signature. However, he just hasn’t lived up to the hype, as he scored just six goals in 35 Premier League appearances. Werner is not exactly beloved, within much of the Chelsea fan base, due to a lot of the critical chances that he’s blown in high profile situations.
Elsewhere goalkeeper Sergio Romero has finally been amnestied from Manchester United, but his next destination is up in the air. It could potentially be Chelsea or Juventus, according to ESPN.
The 34-year-old made 61 appearances in six years at Old Trafford, spending much of his time as the cup competition keeper. Spanish club Granada are also said to be keen on the Argentine international.
Shifting back to the opposite end of the pitch, with talk of another striker potentially leaving Stamford Bridge, Tammy Abraham continues to be strongly linked to Premier League rival clubs. According to the Express, it’s Arsenal who are leading the chase right now, as they are reportedly willing to pay up and meet his wage demands.
Abraham reportedly makes £80,000-per-week and wants to see an increase in paygrade, and he’s prepared to move on in order to obtain it.
According to The Hard Tackle, “Arsenal have indicated his demands of £125,000-per-week are no problem to them.” He’d be a good fit for the Gunners, as he’s fallen out of favor at Chelsea.
Shipping out Werner and Abraham would be part of Chelsea’s grand plan this summer, to go and buy a new, big money striker. Who could that be? Well, it doesn’t appear that Erling Haaland or Romelu Lukaku will be on the move this transfer window, so maybe Robert Lewandowski?
It’s all up in the air at this point.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.
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