Premier League heavyweights Chelsea are reportedly looking to steal a march on PSG for 24-year-old French international Nordi Mukiele.
According to a report by French outlet Foot Mercato, Paris Saint-Germain might have a late fight on their hands in the race to sign Nordi Mukiele in the summer transfer window. Chelsea will look to hijack PSG’s move for the 24-year-old French international, even though the player and RB Leipzig have total agreement with Les Parisiens.
Nordi Mukiele has found a stable footing since joining RB Leipzig from Montpellier four years ago. The player has been a solid customer for the Bundesliga heavyweights, showing tremendous versatility by excelling as a centre-back and a wing-back. He can also play as a midfield if required.
The 24-year-old has turned out 145 times thus far for Leipzig while chipping in with ten goals and 11 assists. At the same time, he has established a foothold in the French national team. But Mukiele has entered the final year of his contract with the German outfit, and his situation has captured the attention of Chelsea and PSG.
The reigning Ligue 1 champions seemed to have everything tied up in the pursuit of Mukiele, with RB Leipzig agreeing to the final transfer fee and the player readily accepting the personal terms. But PSG will have to fend off late competition from Chelsea, with the Blues turning towards the 24-year-old while desperately searching for a defensive solution.
?Info: Chelsea are trying to hijack Mukiele?? deal ! After full verbal agreement with PSG, Chelsea jumped into it before it was signed.
■ Chelsea wants to include Werner?? in the deal.
■ PSG still confident.
■ PSG would like Mukiele ?? to be part of the group on Wednesday pic.twitter.com/WSEVDNLQ0B
— Santi Aouna (@Santi_J_FM) July 25, 2022
The Blues have signed one defender this summer, bringing in Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli. But with Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger departing from Stamford Bridge as free agents and Cesar Azpilicueta keen on joining Barcelona, Chelsea will need to sign at least one more centre-back to ease the defensive issues.
Jules Kounde has thus emerged as a viable target for Chelsea, with the Blues even agreeing to a transfer fee with Sevilla. But Barcelona might hijack the west Londoners’ move for the Frenchman, forcing them to scour the market for alternatives. And Mukiele is an option worth considering for Chelsea.
The 24-year-old’s ability to play as a centre-back and a right-back would make him an ideal replacement for Azpilicueta. And Chelsea will look to sweeten the deal by offering Timo Werner to RB Leipzig. With the German club in the market for an attacking reinforcement, Chelsea’s eleventh-hour bid might complicate matters for PSG.
But the French heavyweights have a total agreement to sign the French international, and Chelsea might have been too late to prise him away from RB Leipzig. But it will be interesting to see if the Blues successfully hijack PSG’s move for the versatile defender.
