Chelsea could reportedly reignite their interest in Everton midfielder Amadou Onana after seeing an approach knocked back in January.
The Belgium international was one of the few positives of a disappointing season for the Toffees. However, they could be forced to sell him this summer.
Indeed, Everton are currently in financial turmoil. So, they will most likely have to sell before they buy. And, given they survived relegation by just two points, they definitely need to rebuild their squad.
But, this is good news for Chelsea, who have had Onana on their radar for some time. As mentioned, the London club’s interest dates back to January, when they enquired about signing the 21-year-old.
But, they weren’t the only team with an interest in Onana. In fact, Manchester United and Arsenal are both monitoring his situation closely
Everton were unwilling to sell him at the time, however, reports suggest they are now under ‘increasing pressure’ to offload some of their more valuable players.
This is according to journalist Paul Brown. Speaking to GiveMeSport, he said: “I think Everton are under pressure to sell someone.
“Possibly even more than one player. They don’t have a whole lot of massively sellable assets in their squad and Onana is one of them.
“I think he’s young enough and has enough potential to generate a profit from the money that they bought him for.
“There are certainly Champions League clubs that remain interested in Onana.”
Onana made 33 Premier League appearances in 2022/23. In the process, he scored one goal and made three assists.
Standing at 6ft4in, he is an imposing figure on the pitch. But, he is surprisingly quick and has excellent feet. Also, he is only expected to get better, so he could be an excellent long term investment for Chelsea.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side are set to lose several midfielders this summer, too.
For instance, N’Golo Kante has already agreed to join Saudi club Al Ittihad, Mason Mount looks destined to join Man Utd, and Mateo Kovacic has agreed personal terms with Manchester City.
With that in mind, Chelsea will have to bring in at least one new centre-mid before the start of the season.
However, Everton will only sell Onana for the right price. Reports suggest that Sean Dyche won’t let the Belgian leave for less than £60m. This would be a decent profit on the £33.5m Everton paid for Onana last summer.
If Chelsea don’t make their move, it’s likely someone else will, with Man Utd and Arsenal both on red alert. So, it will be interesting to see what happens with Onana this summer.
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