Chelsea have had no financial problems since Roman Abramovich took over the club and their wallet has been further fattened by the big money sale of Brazilian midfielder Oscar.
It’s all good news for Chelsea this season. They are sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League table heading into Christmas, and are poised to sell fringe player Oscar to Chinese Super league side Shanghai SIPG for an audacious transfer fee of £60 million.
This will represent a major windfall for the Blues, and it is now being reported that the funds will immediately be utilized in player recruitment. The Guardian report that two players who will be targeted with the money are Monaco’s Djibril Sidibe and Tiemoue Bakayoko.
The report states that manager Antonio Conte, as well as Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo, have already scouted the players earlier this month, during Monaco’s Champions League group stage clash against Tottenham Hotspur.
Other targets for the Blues include the likes of Antonio Rudiger and Radja Nainggolan of AS Roma, Simon Kjaer of Fenerbahce and Leonardo Bonucci of Juventus. However it seems the interest has been confined to scouting so far, with an official Chelsea approach yet to be reported.
The Chelsea defence has conceded only two goals since the switch to the 3-4-2 system, which Conte implemented three months ago. However, the Italian manager has made the strengthening of defence a top priority for the club in the coming transfer windows.
In this regard, the pair of Sidibe and Bakoyoko are two players who would fit in well in Conte’s defensive system. The pair may have to settle for a squad rotation role, as the current starting XI at Chelsea seems pretty much fixed.
Bakoyoko is a defensive midfielder who can provide cover to the central midfield pairing of N’golo Kante and Nemanja Matic. The 22-year-old could be a more dependable option for Conte in that position, compared to the attack minded midfielders in the squad like Cesc Fabregas and the outbound Oscar.
Sidibe joined Monaco this past summer and could prove difficult to prise away. The 24-year-old full-back has earlier stated that he rejected Arsenal because of concerns over playing time and the Blues would have to give him some guarantees to tempt him to Stamford Bridge.
