Strasbourg’s Champions League charge could change plans for €14m January signing | OneFootball

The number one name being linked to Chelsea right now is Dean Huijsen. The Bournemouth defender has all the insiders, from David Ornstein to Fabrizio Romano and back again, talking about him.

When you get this much intense chatter from all corners, the only conclusion is that our interest is real, and it becomes a case of figuring out if Chelsea can win the race.

The Athletic have today done a piece looking at the deal and how it might work, and it’s interesting to compare the thoughts of Simon Johnson to our own thoughts about the situation in defence. What’s clear is that, if Huijsen is come in, we will have to sell some players. Not only to make room on the wage bill and in the squad, but also to raise the £50m it will take to sign him.

Johnson’s coverage aligns with our thinking on most players – Tosin likely to stay unless he pushes to leave, Renato Veiga and Axel Disasi likely to leave, Benoit Badiashile likely to stay, Trevoh Chalobah likely to leave, Aaron Anselmino almost certain to be loaned.

Strasbourg’s Champions League charge changes Chelsea plans

Mamadou Sarr in action for France U20s. (Photo By Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile via Getty Images.)

The most interesting part of the article is in fact about Mamadou Sarr, a player we signed from our sister club Strasbourg in January for €14m, who has stayed there on loan.

The plan was for him to come to Chelsea in the summer. But according to Johnson, those plans may be changing: “with Strasbourg just four points off second place in Ligue 1 and on course to qualify for Europe, Chelsea are thinking about him staying on loan for a season so he can develop further.”

That would seem a sensible move for us – there’s clearly an overcrowding of defenders at the moment, and it’s better to leave those with a lot of potential where they are, playing regularly, than to bring them in to sit on the bench at Stamford Bridge.