Chelsea 'ready' to bid £58m as player's agent 'tries to force' transfer

Chelsea are back in action on Monday night when they take on London rivals West Ham at home. The Blues have an ultra-busy day, given they must negotiate deadline day while also playing a game that offers them the opportunity to return to the top four.

Enzo Maresca and his staff will have plenty to do on Monday, with Chelsea hoping to land a new forward, while there are also likely to be a number of exits before the 11pm deadline. Here we round up all the latest news and transfer rumours surrounding Stamford Bridge.

Kobel links

Chelsea may be prioritising an attacker deal on deadline day, but it’s reported they could splash the cash to sign a goalkeeper amid much-criticised displays from Robert Sanchez, while Maresca doesn’t seem to be fully convinced by Filip Jorgensen just yet.

According to BILD. Chelsea are willing to offer £58million for Borussia Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel, and it’s a deal the Bundesliga club would almost certainly accept, according to the report. Chelsea need to strengthen other areas on deadline day, so such a big offer would be surprising, but Maresca has made it clear he is not satisfied with Sanchez’s performances to date.

Felix latest

Chelsea star Joao Felix is being heavily linked with an exit on deadline day having struggled for appearances in his opening months at Stamford Bridge, arriving on a more than £40million deal in the summer.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Felix’s agent, Jorge Mendes, is trying to push Felix into joining AC Milan before the window slams shut. Milan are looking to offload Noah Okafor, while Alvaro Morata has sealed a deal to join Galatasaray.

Maresca on James

Chelsea boss Maresca has been speaking about the return of Reece James over recent weeks and his belief in the player. He said: “We are very happy that finally he is back for us.

“We consider Reece to be a top player, one of the best players we have, and for sure he is going to help us from now on.” He added: “Since the start Reece is improving, he is getting better. I’ve said many times that all captains have to be a good example with all of their team-mates, especially in this team when we have many young players. He is trying to make an effort in terms of this kind of thing, in terms of leadership. He is doing that in general – it is during the training sessions, in the changing room, all of the time.”

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