Chelsea are reportedly interested in and keeping tabs on Jose Gaya, with the Premier League club looking to move for the Valencia star in the summer of 2020.
French publication Soccerlink have claimed that Chelsea are laying down the foundation for their transfer spree in the summer of 2020, when they will be allowed to sign players again. Jose Gaya seems to be on the list of targets the club is building, with the Valencia defender on their radar.
Chelsea are currently serving a two-window transfer ban issued by FIFA for breaching rules regarding acquisition and registration of players under the age of 18. The Blues, while hopeful of being allowed to sign players from January, could have to wait till the summer of 2020 to sign players, if their appeal to shelve their transfer ban does not bear a positive result.
One of the positions that Chelsea will look to bring players in is the left side of the back four. Marcos Alonso has dropped in the pecking order at Chelsea and is not the first-choice anymore. Emerson Palmieri is the new preferred choice, but the Italian is not as defensively stable, despite being a better option at the back compared to the extremely attack-minded Marcos Alonso.
Gaya could thus, be a solution. At 24, Gaya is already a full-fledged Spanish international and is in his sixth full season at Valencia. Three appearances away from touching the 200 mark for the club, Gaya has been solid as a rock on the left side of the back four in La Liga.
But, there is turmoil brewing at Valencia. The club sacked Marcelino, who reportedly had his differences with chairman Peter Lim, a decision that is unlikely to go down well with the squad at the club, especially with Marcelino being the one who brought the club out of the steep hole of mediocrity they found themselves in recent years.
Amid all this uncertainty and turmoil, Gaya could choose to seek newer pastures, with Chelsea likely to be on the lookout for any opportunity. Gaya joins Chilwell on the list of potential left-backs Chelsea will look to target in the summer of 2020. While the latter does have Premier League experience, Gaya has more experience overall and has had more exposure in Europe and on the international stage.
Who Chelsea decide to target might also depend on how they fare in the 2018-19 campaign, with the ability to attract the aforementioned players likely to hinge on Champions League qualification.
