Chelsea round-up: £35 million Tiemoue Bakayoko deal to kick-off overhaul; Cesc Fabregas future twist; Ruben Neves tracked

Add as preferred source on Google

A £35 million deal for Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko is increasingly close, say the Mirror. The switch is likely to be concluded within a fortnight and will be the first of five potential signings this transfer window as Antonio Conte looks to add quality and depth to his squad.

The dynamic central midfielder will add depth in midfield, whilst additions are also likely at wing-back, in defence and up-front. That could mean that the club are forced to sell some deadwood in the squad in order to finance the moves.

However, Cesc Fabregas will not be one of those players to be sold, if the Daily Star is correct. They reveal that whilst the club have actively looked to sell the Spaniard on more than one occasion over the past season, the experienced former Arsenal and Barcelona man will now stay at Stamford Bridge.

Fabregas was left on the bench for much of the early stages of the campaign but later returned, capitalising on Nemanja Matic’s drop in form. In spite of that, he was dropped from the starting eleven for the FA Cup final against Arsenal, a decision which Fabregas was hurt by and once again put his future in doubt.

If he is to move on, an alternative could be Porto’s young midfielder Ruben Neves. Portuguese newspaper A Bola say that both the Blues and Liverpool are keeping an eye on the 20-year-old, as he heads to the European Under-21 Championships this summer after a successful season domestically.

The holding midfielder could have grown frustrated at Porto after making just nine starts last season, down from 24 in 2015/16,  despite avoiding injury and suspension. That could put him on the market and Chelsea will want to be in a position to pounce.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by jack jeff.