Chelsea want £79m Ekitike money for their major asset – but have one ace up their sleeve | OneFootball

We’ve been looking forward to the Daily Mail’s Chelsea confidential for this week, and it hasn’t disappointed.

Kieran Gill’s weekly piece is always full of juicy bits, and this week the lead story is on the biggest remaining plotline of this summer, potentially.

After getting a lot of work done both in terms of sales and acquisitions this summer, Chelsea are down to the final tweaks to their squad for the season ahead. The most profitable move that remains is likely the sale of Nicolas Jackson, given he’s a Premier League proven striker who has led the line for us for the last two years.

Jackson could be loaned

Nicolas Jackson celebrates his goal in the Conference League final.(Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Gill’s piece adds an interesting twist to the tale – unlike in the case of most players they’re looking to shift, Chelsea are open to loaning Jackson. But only with an obligation to buy included.

An obligation to buy basically turns a loan into a delayed transfer. And clearly we’ve had enough money coming in this season that we’re happy to delay this particular influx until next summer. Our PSR and FFP situation must be looking right.

Letting teams pay for Jackson next summer opens up his market significantly, and hopefully means a higher fee in the end. Gill notes that Bayern Munich are “front runners” for Jackson, while Newcastle are also increasingly desperate to add a striker.

However teams in more restricted financial situations – like Napoli or Aston Villa – may be more tempted by the delayed payment structure.

Chelsea want Ekitike money for Jackson – they may not get it

As we’ve said many times, the thing holding this deal up will be the transfer fee. This piece claims that Chelsea believe that Jackson is worth more than the £79m Liverpool paid for Hugo Ekitike, and we can’t see them getting that, even next summer.

A loan with option would take up Chelsea’s final international slot, another potential reason to not do it.