Chelsea are reportedly in a strong pursuit of Hellas Verona midfielder Red Belahyane in the final week of January transfer window.
The Blues have recalled Trevoh Chalobah from his loan spell at Crystal Palace to provide defensive cover, while a number of players are in various stages of leaving Stamford Bridge this month – including Renato VeigaChristopher Nkunku, Carney Chukwuemeka and Ben Chilwell.
But there are still no brand new additions to Enzo Maresca’s squad. That could change with rumors of interest in Belahyan, who at just 20 years old would be another example of the club scouting and recruiting talent that should be developed long-term.
Gianluca Di Marzio writes that Chelsea are “pushing” to sign Belahyan, identifying him as a replacement for Cesare Casadei, who is wanted by Lazio.
Casadei was mostly limited to minutes in the Conference League this season, starting three times in the group stage but barely even getting to sit on the bench. Premier League. His departure is expected despite the lack of midfield depth that saw Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall start a league game for the first time as a Chelsea player against Wolves earlier this week.
Maresca was Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia are also missing due to muscle injuries for that 3-1 win, I can’t name a single senior midfielder on the bench.
Di Marzio’s report suggests that once Casadei’s future is settled, Chelsea will launch a €15m (£12.7m) deal to sign Belahyan.
The talented youngster only moved to Italy last summer when Hellas recruited him from OGC Nice. He started 15 times for the struggling Serie A side this season in midfield.
Chelsea also stay is increasingly being linked with Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnachbut time to close a potentially complicated deal is quickly running out.
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