Marina Granovskaia can use£54m Chelsea transfer misery to land Thomas Tuchel's dream signing
Earlier in the month, Barcelona centre-half Ronald Araujo agreed to leave the Spanish
side and become Rudiger's replacement at Chelsea, according to Spanish outlet El Nacional.
The report claims that the 22-year-old has held discussions with Blues owner Roman Abramovich
who 'promised him an irrefutable contract'.
El Nacional added that Thomas Tuchel promised Araujo a role as the undisputed starter in
Chelsea's starting eleven amid the west London side's brewing contract crisis.
However, Araujo has since reemerged as a key figure in the Catalan side.
Barcelona wants to reward him with a five-year contract that includes a release clause of
€1 billion (around £846m), just like Ansu Fati's, according to Fichajes.
Mundo Deportivo adds that the Uruguayan defender 'has no problem renewing' his deal at Camp
Nou, despite Abramovich's best efforts to lure Araujo to Stamford Bridge.
Our view: This would be a reasonably big blow for Chelsea, but by no means the end of the
world and certainly a calibre of player the Blues could buy elsewhere.
I've always said that Araujo, who's worth £22.5 million as per Transfermarkt, isn't
yet at the pedigree Chelsea should be targeting.
If this happens, as per reports, then this is nothing to lose sleep over but, equally,
a deal in which the west Londoners could kick themselves about in a few years.
Chelsea's interest in Jules Kounde remains but the Blues' decision to act in January
or wait until the summer rests on the condition of their squad, according to The Telegraph.
The 23-year-old centre-half got heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, but the Blues
never activated his release clause of roughly £68 million.
Chelsea reportedly made an offer of around £50 million, which was turned down by Sevilla
late in the window.
But hindsight is a great thing, and the club didn't know Tuchel would have to juggle as
many setbacks as he has amid the contract situation too.
There's a lot more to signing a player than what meets the eye; how it impacts the club
on a social level and financial - the consensus in January would be one in one out, for the
most part.
I can't understand why going back in for Kounde as soon as possible isn't a significant priority
regardless - a January or summer move both works well, and it would show a good signal
of intent.
According to Diario Sport, Andreas Christensen wants Barcelona to define itself as a serious
suitor for his future ahead of the January transfer window.
The report claims that the 25-year-old, who sees his current deal with Chelsea expire
at the end of the season, has told the Spanish side he will extend his future at Stamford
Bridge if they don't make themselves known.
Diario Sport goes on to add that Christensen has been a long-term target for Barcelona
and negotiations to bring the defender to Camp Nou began months ago and a winter loan
move last winter was ruled out following the Spanish side's presidential elections.
I'm of the view that anyone can leave a club if they want, whenever they want because fans
want to see players desperate to play for the club and not eyeing for an exit.
Christensen is valued at £31.5 million by Transfermarkt so losing him for free wouldn't
be ideal at all and the confirmation of his exit could force Chelsea into moving forward
with the aforementioned Kounde deal.