Chelsea On Alert With Ligue One Starlet Set To Be ‘Made Available’ For 21.6M

Chelsea are one of three clubs who could make a move for Saint-Etienne midfielder Lucas Gourna-Douath this summer, according to Goal.

The website claims that the 17-year-old could be “made available” for €25m (£21.6m), with the Blues, RB Leipzig and AC Milan all pursuing the player’s signature.

Saint-Etienne are reluctant to offload Gourna-Douath, after a breakout season that has seen them make 25 league appearances, but the French club have a major shortfall in their finances.

The collapse of Ligue One’s TV deal means that some difficult decisions will need to be made with regards to player sales and, with Gourna-Douath being one of their most saleable assets, he may have to be sacrificed.

Chelsea do already have a number of promising young midfielders, such as Billy Gilmour, but Gourna-Douath provides a very different skillset to the players currently coming through the Blues’ academy. Many have drawn comparisons with Paul Pogba, although it must be said the teenager is more defensively minded than his fellow countryman. Whether the Blues will make their move this summer, we shall have to wait and see.