Chelsea reportedly tageted Inter Milan wingback Denzel Dumfries in January and the Italian club look set to add to their defensive ranks in the transfer window.

Chelsea may have gained an advantage over rumored target Denzel Dumfries thanks to Inter Milan.

In January, there were rumors that Chelsea had made a €35 million offer for the Dutch wingback, leading the Blues to be linked with a transfer.

Instead, the 27-year-old finished the season by reaching the Champions League final with Inter, but suggested he may still be on the move when asked about his future. He said: “When (Inter) get back together, despite this defeat, we will be hungry for victory next season,” he said. “What if I stay at Inter? Yes, at the moment I’m staying at Inter. ”.

Inter are seemingly already putting their plans in place for next season. Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has shared that Internazionale have held a “positive meeting” with German defender Yann Aurel Bisseck, who plays for Danish side Aarhus.

Di Marzio reports that the Italian side are set to ‘reach an agreement’ with the 22-year-old ahead of a move this summer. Bisseck is said to have a €7million release clause as Inter boss Simone Inzaghi looks to bolster his defensive options, which could potentially pave the way for Chelsea to revive their pursuit for Dumfires.

The Netherlands international has often been touted with a move away from the San Siro since joining the Milan side in 2021. The full-back has two years remaining on his current contract and would provide competition to Reece James, if he were to arrive at Stamford Bridge. Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were also said to be in the race for his signature, though no move came to fruition, with Inter said to value him at least €55million (£48.4million).

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According to the released fixtures, Mohamed Salah will miss Liverpool’s matches against Chelsea and Arsenal.

Following Egypt’s qualification this week, Mohamed Salah will miss four Premier League games for Liverpool during the upcoming season due to his participation in the African Cup of Nations.

After the fixtures for the 2023–24 Premier League season were made public, Liverpool learned of their schedule for the year.

The Reds’ 2018-19 campaign begins with a challenging trip to Mauricio Pochettino’s revamped Chelsea, followed by a Saturday, August 19 home match against Bournemouth. The final August game is a challenging away contest against Newcastle.

However, Jurgen Klopp’s team’s toughest stretch of the season seems to start around the Christmas season, starting in mid-December with games against top-four rivals Manchester United, Arsenal, and Newcastle in a busy schedule. Their series of games will probably come to define their campaign.

The Reds will hope to have nearly their full roster for that stretch of games, but they are also prepared to lose star forward Mohamed Salah the month after that. At the African Cup of Nations, the Egypt will be represented by the Egyptian.

The competition will take place in Ivory Coast from January 13 through February 11, and, barring Egypt’s early elimination, Salah is likely to be unavailable for club selection for up to a month, which will be a blow to Klopp’s team.

Salah played a part in his country’s 2-1 victory over Guinea on Wednesday, ensuring Egypt’s qualification for the competition. With Malawi and Ethiopia failing to advance from the four-team group, it guarantees Egypt will finish first in their group.

Accordingly, Salah will be unavailable for Liverpool’s upcoming four Premier League games, both halves of the EFL Cup semifinal, if the Reds advance that far, and the FA Cup’s first round matches, all of which fall during this time.

Prior to missing two of the Reds’ most important games of the season, at home against Chelsea and away against Arsenal, the 31-year-old will miss the Reds’ away match against Bournemouth, the first Premier League game of the 2024 calendar year, where they lost 1-0 and Salah missed his penalty.

The three-game stretch produced just one point for Klopp’s team during the previous campaign, and Salah is also scheduled to miss the match against Burnley at Anfield in early February should Egypt advance to the next round of the African Cup of Nations.

Despite the team’s unsuccessful season, Salah is still Liverpool’s star player and scored 30 goals last year. The Egyptian scored 19 goals in the Premier League and started all but one of Klopp’s team’s league games.