Chelsea’s problem right now is not a lack of good players – it’s a surplus.
There are still a number of first team squad members who probably need to be moved on before much progress can be made.
But our writer Simon Phillips has today claimed that there remains serious interest in a Premier League option: Murillo of Nottingham Forest.
He would be expensive – he’s a 22 year old playing in the Premier League and looking every bit the modern centre back, with quality on the ball and great physical tools. His form isn’t the best and Forest fans aren’t always delighted with him, but nobody doubts that the raw potential is there for a top, top player.
Transfermarkt value him at €40m just a year on from his €12m move from Corinthians, and Forest might ask for a lot more. However if they go down this year, there could be a fire sale. Phillips says our enquiry in the summer was “shelved” because of how much was being quoted for them, but clearly we’re interested.
The recruitment team “really like” him and will obviously be monitoring his progress this year.
Chelsea could still be in the market for elite option
While Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana have had a good start to the season and we have solid backups already, there is a sense that we lack the outstanding elite central defender to match our options elsewhere. Fofana could yet return to that level, and Colwill could still reach it, but apart from goalkeeper it’s a position we can see the sporting directors targeting next summer once our current crop have been thoroughly assessed by Enzo Maresca and the directors themselves.
So if we start seeing serious moves to shift Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi, things could get very hot on this front.
