Chelsea in 'advanced talks' as London rivals backed to submit loan proposal

Chelsea’s campaign is now over after the conclusion of the Premier League on Sunday. It was an exciting finish in the top five race, and Chelsea’s bid for Champions League football ended with celebration.

Enzo Maresca’s men defeated Nottingham Forest on the final day to secure fourth spot, ending what has been a season of progress for the club. The Blues will now have to strengthen their squad, and work will surely begin instantly behind the scenes while the players and Maresca take a break. Here we round up all the latest news and transfer rumours surrounding Stamford Bridge.

Caicedo talks

Chelsea are said to be pushing to wrap up a new deal for midfielder Moises Caicedo. Fabrizio Romano has reported: “Chelsea will advance in talks to extend Moises Caicedo’s contract in the next months. Plan since March is to open negotiations over new deal for the midfielder and it will happen in the upcoming months, as Chelsea see Caicedo as world class midfielder.”

Caicedo had a tough start to life at Chelsea after his big-money arrival, but he has been one of the best midfielders in the Premier League this season. The Blues are now set to tie him down with improved terms.

Nkunku links

Tottenham are said to be interested in a loan move for Chelsea attacker Christopher Nkunku. According to Fichajes, the forward is of interest to Spurs as they look to build a Champions League-ready squad.

Nkunku has struggled with Chelsea and is all-but certain to leave the club this summer. The Blues may struggle to get their £52million investment back, and a big loan fee might work for them, but Spurs don’t yet appear sure whether they will keep manager Ange Postecoglou, so such a clear plan does seem unlikely at this stage.

Maresca on UCL qualification

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was delighted with his side’s efforts to reach the Champions League. He said after the win over Forest: “I’m very proud of the players. I feel especially proud of their improvement, of the way they grew through the season. I feel especially proud of that because they are a fantastic group, a fantastic squad.

“They are good boys, they work hard, they try to help each other. Most of the time they had to deal with noise from outside saying they were not good enough, they were too young, we didn’t have leaders, this kind of thing. But at the end it all comes from results. I didn’t have any doubt about the players. Any doubts were from outside. The players deserved that victory and I’ve said many times the effort they have put in is fantastic.”

Maresca added: “We were in four competitions at the beginning of the season. We have finished in the Champions League. We went out of the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, but overall I think we can say it has been a very good season. I said before, for me it was already a good season, but it could become very good if we were able to get the Champions League, and hopefully now we can win the Conference League on Wednesday.”

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