Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is believed to personally have his eyes on a Euro 2024 who’s working “astonishingly” at his club right now, as Stamford Bridge officials plan to bolster one key area of the squad.
Chelsea targeting new defender in next two transfer windows
According to recent reports from reliable media sources, like journalist Simon Phillips, Chelsea are expected to sign another centre-back “very soon” as scouts get dispatched to South America and beyond.
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Of the names reportedly on their agenda, a fair few have been named in the past fortnight alone.
Nottingham Forest defender Murillo, who has become a mainstay at the heart of Nuno Espirito Santo’s defence as they enjoy an absolutely excellent start to the new Premier League campaign, is one interesting option on their radar heading into 2025.
Chelsea’s next Premier League fixtures | Date |
|---|---|
Leicester City (home) | November 23 |
Aston Villa (home) | December 1 |
Southampton (away) | December 4 |
Tottenham (home) | December 8 |
Brentford (home) | December 15 |
Some media sources even suggest that Chelsea could offer Trevoh Chalobah in a swap deal for Murillo, once the Englishman returns from his loan spell at Crystal Palace at the end of this season,
Benfica starlet Tomas Araujo still has admirers at Chelsea as well, following late summer rumours that the Blues were ready to bid £34 million for the Portuguese talent.
Vitor Reis of Palmeiras, Zenit St. Petersburg defender Robert Renin, PSG’s Lucas Beraldo and Albacete loanee Kaiky are other centre-backs being monitored by Chelsea ahead of the new year, but it remains to be seen who becomes their priority target.
News of their eagerness to bring in another centre-half is perhaps surprising, considering the sheer amount of options at Maresca’s disposal already. Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill have formed an excellent partnership at the heart of the Italian’s defence so far, with Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi and Tosin Adarabioyo on the bench and ready to be called upon if needed.
While Chelsea have faith in Badiashile and are huge admirers of the Frenchman, perhaps their hunt for another defender spells danger for Disasi, who has been sporadically linked with a January exit.
Maresca personally eyeing Chelsea move for Ilya Zarbarnyi
In any case, a report by Football Transfers has lifted the lid on another player who Chelsea think fondly of – Bournemouth star Ilya Zabarnyi.
The Ukranian, who played every game for his country at Euro 2024, is close to 50 caps and has played brilliantly for the Cherries this season. This hasn’t gone unnoticed in west London, as Chelsea shortlist Zabarnyi as a transfer target for 2025.
Maresca is personally a fan of the 22-year-old, who Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola says is seriously impressing both on the field and behind-the-scenes in training.
“I think they were very brave because it’s difficult to play with the space we had behind us throughout the match against Haaland, who is always a threat,” said Iraola, heaping praise on Zabarnyi and Marcos Senesi after their 2-1 win over Man City.
“At the end of the match, the game was different: they were pressing us, and we had to defend against crosses and deal with difficult situations. We were not only playing against Erling, the central defenders of Manchester City also moved forward – everyone was putting pressure on us.
“I think they really handled their job very well. They are working astonishingly in training.”
