Chelsea to continue transfer splurge with £75m deal close

Chelsea are ready to bid £75m for their next priority target, while Dean Henderson has issued an ultimatum to Man Utd, according to Tuesday’s paper gossip.

CHELSEA MOVING FOR NEXT PRIORITY TARGET

Chelsea are set to take immediate action over their interest in Leicester City ace Ben Chilwell.

The Blues have been on the hunt for a new left-back after Frank Lampard was left less than impressed by Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmeiri.

Chelsea have already splashed the cash ahead of next season by bringing in Hakim Ziyech from Ajax for a £36.1m and Timo Werner for £47.5m.

And after landing Werner, the club will turn their attention to solving their problem position by signing a new left-back.

The Daily Express states that England ace Chilwell is Lampard’s next priority target, while Le 10 Sport claims Blues bosses will ‘quickly take action’ by launching an offer for the Foxes ace.

Chilwell could prove a difficult transfer to complete, however, because Leicester are under no pressure to sell.

The Foxes are flush with cash and are likely to demand a fee in the region of the £75m, which may prove to steep for the Stamford Bridge outfit.

To that end, the Blues have back-up options in the shape of PSG’s out-of-contract ace Layvin Kurzawa, Porto star Alex Telles and Alex Sandro of Juventus.

But Chilwell is the man Lampard wants and former Chelsea star Joe Cole believes the Leicester man fits the bill.

“Similar to Werner, he fits the ethos – he is young, he’s hungry, he’s explosive and athletic,” Cole told the Daily Mail.

“I think he’s got a lot of talent, if he comes to Chelsea, working with the group there – in Brendan [Rodgers] he’s got a great manager and a great team up at Leicester. But Chelsea’s a step up from Leicester.

“I know they are sitting above Chelsea in the table at the moment but having the opportunity to work with Frank and improve would be immense for him.

“He’s got the left-back position for England in his hands at the moment.

“My advice would be to keep performing, keep consistent and if he does do that he can be England’s left-back and if he does come to Chelsea, Chelsea’s left-back for many years. He’s a terrific player, a real talent.”

MORE TRANSFER GOSSIP

Dean Henderson is willing to accept Manchester United ‘s offer of a new contract – but only if he is given the number one spot at Old Trafford (Daily Star)

Super agent Mino Raiola is reportedly in talks with both Arsenal and Roma over a potential deal which would see Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Justin Kluivert swap clubs (Daily Star)

Arsenal have to decide on Tuesday whether to keep David Luiz, Pablo Mari, Cedric Soares and Dani Ceballos after the end of their current deals (The Sun)

Morgan Schneiderlin is poised to quit Everton after passing a medical at Ligue 1 side Nice (The Sun)

Bayern Munich have reportedly tabled a £36m bid for Manchester City star Leroy Sane – with the club said to be willing to wait until next year to sign him (The Sun)

FA Cup replays could be axed completely next season as football chiefs look at ways to ease what will be a jam packed campaign (The Sun)

Liverpool are considering a summer swoop for the highly-rated Kalidou Koulibaly but Napoli have told the Reds they are £32m short of their valuation (Daily Mirror)

Philippe Coutinho is being linked with a move back to Liverpool, with Barcelona’s asking price for the winger now heavily reduced (Daily Mirror)

Roma have reportedly made a breakthrough in their negotiations with Manchester United to keep Chris Smalling for next season (Daily Mirror)

Borussia Dortmund have beaten Manchester United to the signature of highly-rated Birmingham teenager Jude Bellingham, and the Bundesliga club will announce an £18m deal in the coming days (Daily Mail)

Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana’s hopes of landing a dream move to the Premier League remain up in the air, even after the club agreed to re-sign goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg from Everton (Daily Mail)

Troy Deeney and his partner Alisha Hosannah are to trademark the Black Lives Matter logo which they designed and is appearing on Premier League shirt sleeves (Daily Mail)

Manchester United have received a glowing review of Jack Grealish from ex-Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce as Ed Woodward eyes a summer transfer (Daily Express)

Watford and Crystal Palace are set for a summer battle over Bournemouth contract rebel Ryan Fraser (Daily Express)

David De Gea will have until the end of the season until a decision is made on Dean Henderson competing to be No 1 at Manchester United (Daily Telegraph)

Football’s authorities are exploring the possibility of using the Community Shield as a test event for the return of fans before the start of next season (The Times)

Craig Levein is interested in returning to the job of Dundee United manager more than a decade after he left Tannadice first time around (The Times)

Hearts fans have incredibly unveiled a banner calling for Robbie Neilson’s exit just one day after his return to the club from Dundee United (Daily Record)

Craig Gordon insists he’d be willing to play for Hearts even if they are in the Championship next season – as he hit out at Celtic over the handling of his contract (Daily Record)

Arsenal legend Jens Lehmann is reportedly keen on the Dundee United job (Scottish Sun)