Star duo left out of Chelsea’s tour squad, exit increasingly likely – plus all the other Chelsea transfer news

Star duo left out of Chelsea’s tour squad, exit increasingly likely – plus all the other Chelsea transfer news

Chelsea have endured a difficult transfer window so far as they had only sealed moves for Willy Caballero and Antonio Rudiger before today according to all the news.

Antonio Conte still clearly has a lot of work to do in the market, particularly in his search for a new superstar striker, but the Italian is not altering his cut-throat approach to the window as he’s made it increasingly clear two senior players have no place within his squad.

Exits for midfield stalwart Nemanja Matic and the enigmatic Diego Costa seem likely to go ahead, with the duo being informed they’re surplus to requirements this summer, and the fact the pair have been left behind from the club’s pre-season trip to China shows there is no chance of them fighting their way back into Conte’s plans.

The two players, both 28, have been informed by Conte they will not join the squad on Monday when the rest of the team flies out to the Far East, increasingly the likelihood is that both will be sold by the time Chelsea begin their Premier League campaign next month.

Diego Costa is desperate to return to Atletico Madrid, although the Spanish side’s transfer ban means he’d be unable to feature until 2018, and Matic has attracted the interest of Manchester United- although Chelsea’s relationship with the Red Devils isn’t currently stood on solid ground following Romelu Lukaku’s move to Old Trafford.

Italian sides are also reported to hold an interest in the services of Serbian international Matic, and a sale abroad seems more likely at this stage. However, Arsenal are the latest club to be linked with a move to acquire midfield general Nemanja Matic in a deal which would see young England starlet Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain coming to Stamford Bridge in a potential swap deal.

While somewhat unlucky with some troublesome injuries over his early career, Oxlade-Chamberlain is still only 23 years old but has been in the Premier League for 6 seasons already so this deal could be very interesting, especially when you consider the player has always felt that his best position is in the centre of midfield.

Whilst Matic is more defensive minded and Oxlade-Chamberlain more attack-minded meaning it is not an absolute like-for-like swap the answer to the matter may well be in the form of the now completed transfer for Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco. Adding Bakayoko should address the loss of Matic meaning Oxlade-Chamberlain could be a solid signing and one which could bear fruit for many years to come. Even so, Blues fans will likely still be hoping that any other departures will mean even more quality players will be brought in.

Chelsea have been strongly linked with Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang over the past few days and it seems more than plausible that this deal will go through according to many sources. After losing out on Lukaku you had to know that Chelsea would respond and signing the prolific scoring, 40 goal scorer from last season would be some response. The Gabonese hitman is lighting quick and at 28 years old Chelsea would be getting him in his prime.

Chelsea currently lack significant depth in key areas, which could be exposed with the club’s involvement in the Champions League, and that’s a real concern for fans ahead of the new season- particularly as all the signings made so far and the ones reported to be going ahead are simply replacements, rather than improving the depth.

I think it would be a wise man who bets against Antonio Conte making too many mistakes in the transfer market given his record last year – he is a year older and a year wiser.

That could cause problems later in the season but fans will be patient with Conte following an impressive summer last year, where signings like Marcos Alonso didn’t set the world alight initially but proved to be some of the best captures of the year. As we have reported in a number of Chelsea transfer stories, Antonio Conte and Chelsea’s transfer dealings have been virtually bullet-proof in recent times and with the Rudiger and Bakayoko signings in the bag it is clear to see the type of quality Antonio Conte wants to sign this summer so Chelsea fans should rest easy as the club certainly seem like they are going to be very well-equipped for the upcoming season.

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