Exclusive: Chelsea have started talks with £65m potential Nkunku replacement | OneFootball

Arsenal’s move for Chelsea winger Noni Madueke is almost complete. The announcement is expected in the next 48 hours that the £52m deal is done.

The question now is what Chelsea do next. Are they happy with their attacking options, and did they sign Jamie Gittens knowing Madueke was likely to go, or do they want to sign another player to replace him? Will Christopher Nkunku leave too? How close to being a first team regular is Estevao Willian?

We don’t have definitive answers just yet, but the whispers we hear do gives us some hints.

Chelsea restart agents talks with Eze’s camp

Eberechi Eze playing for Crystal Palace.

Our writer Simon Phillips has just put up an exclusive on his Substack with information from his sources that Chelsea have been in contact with Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace. The Blues have had “new talks” with his agents, although there’s yet to be any club to club talks.

Clearly the Blues want to scope out the attacker’s interest before taking things any further. Eze has a release clause of around £65m, but the potential of a player part exchange to bring that down is also mentioned. Palace still like Trevoh Chalobah, and might consider a number of others we’ve got on our books too.

Nkunku future likely to dictate Eze move intensity

There is no rush on this front – the future of Christopher Nkunku probably plays a major role. If a deal for him starts looking likely, things will probably advance more with Eze. As it stands, apart from some vague Bayern interest, there doesn’t appear to be much movement in that direction.

However things could fire up at any moment, and if they do we expect the 27 year old to at the very least be on our long list to replace the Frenchman.