Chelsea are in the hunt for a new right winger before the window closes and Football.London are exploring how tonight’s game against Luton Town could affect their plans.
Since Chelsea completed the signings of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia for £173m last week, the club’s direction in the transfer market has been pretty clear.
Bringing in a new goalie and adding another attacking talent to their ranks. The first seems almost settled, fortunately for the Blues.
New England Revolution’s Djordje Petrovic is on his way to Stamford Bridge after Chelsea agreed a £14m (£12.5m plus £1.5m extras) deal with the side from the MLS.
Petrovic will soon undergo medical treatment with the Blues and by the time Chelsea host second-tier side AFC Wimbledon in west London in the second round of the Carabao Cup next week, the transfer should be complete.
It was therefore natural that the club’s attention turned to an attacking option: someone who is versatile and can play both on the right wing and in the middle as a number 10. A few options have been identified for a possible move during the last week of the summer transfer window.
Chelsea spoke to Rayan Cherki and his representatives last month, football.london learns, but nothing has progressed with the Frenchman since the initial dialogue. It could be a target to watch, but for now it looks like Chelsea have turned their attention to other targets.
One of them is Bradley Barcola from the same club, Lyon. The 20-year-old is currently seen as one of the most exciting talents in his role – right wing – in world football right now. But Paris Saint-Germain is also interested in Barcola and has started negotiations with Lyon for a transfer of the winger.
“We need at least one goalkeeper,” Mauricio Pochettino told reporters on Thursday. “We have very talented young goalkeepers, but they need time.
“They need more and then we were talking about a striker, the right profile. If we manage to add the right profile, yes, but not to bring players, so we can add another one. We don’t want to stop the evolution of some young people, [Armando] Broja, [Christopher] Nkunku.
“We work hard, but we don’t make decisions because we need someone. We may need some players in these two areas.”
Pochettino essentially suggested that the club will enter the transfer market between now and September 1st, but only if there is the ideal option. Chelsea will not be in a hurry to buy someone just because they don’t fit the club’s desired profile or ideology. Tonight’s (Friday) game against Luton Town could have a major impact on the club’s plans until the window closes. With Christopher Nkunku and Carney Chukwuemeka both out with knee injuries, the Blues’ offensive options will be tight for those playing behind Nicolas Jackson, we assume.
Noni Madueke is likely to make his first start under Pochettino after coming on as a second-half substitute at West Ham United at the weekend. The 21-year-old winger, who was signed by PSV Eindhoven in the January transfer window for £30m, showed the first glimpses of his vast talent and technical ability in the second half of last season, but struggled to establish itself on the right.
place to secure – hand side.
When Madueke positions a defender in a one-on-one situation, he is virtually unstoppable. He’s one of those players where the defender knows what he’s going to do; he cuts off his favorite left foot, but precognition becomes useless due to his incredible speed and tricky dribbling.
Against West Ham, however, Chelsea almost played against two right wingers at times. Raheem Sterling was often on the right wing and stayed there even as Madueke entered the second period. This has at times forced the England under-21 international to move into the centre, where he has been unable to hurt the Hammers.
However, there were a few instances where Madueke picked up the ball on the right side and was able to show the wits of him in one-on-one situations. It was a terrible shame he couldn’t find the back of the net on a shot that hit the net, only for goalkeeper Alphonse Areola to deflect the goal and then turn it over.
If he wants to play against Luton, Chelsea will have to send the ball to him down the right flank as often as possible because if he isolates a full-back there is nothing anyone can do about it. His end product obviously needs improvement, but for raw talent, what he has to offer is pretty scary.
There is always talk of a new right-winger, but Madueke sometimes seems overlooked. Even though Chelsea need depth on the wing, largely due to injury, whoever comes in doesn’t have to be a drag on the development of one of England’s brightest young talents.
