Chelsea are reportedly in talks with Serie A outfit Sassuolo over the possibility of re-signing Jeremie Boga, who has impressed in the ongoing season.
According to a report from TransferMarketWeb.com, Chelsea are looking at the possibility of signing former academy starlet Jeremie Boga back from Serie A side Sassuolo, two years after offloading him.
The 23-year-old was with Chelsea’s youth setup since 2009 having arrived from Marseille. Having had loan spells at Stade Rennais, Granada and Birmingham City, Boga left Chelsea on a permanent transfer in 2018 after just one first-team appearance, signing for Sassuolo in a £2.7 million deal.
Boga did not have the best of debut seasons in Italy. But, the Ivorian attacker has come into his own in the ongoing campaign. The 23-year-old has netted 7 goals in 22 Serie A matches in 2019-20 while setting up four more goals, which has naturally seen him attract a lot of suitors from across Europe.
Amidst all this, there have been claims that Chelsea too, are looking at their former academy star as they mull over the possibility of re-signing him in the summer transfer window. The Blues are facing the possibility of losing Willian with his contract expiring at the end of the season, while Pedro too could be on his way out, potentially leaving Frank Lampard short on numbers in attack.
Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho is understood to be Chelsea’s top target, but the Blues are also understood to be considering bringing back Boga from Sassuolo. The fact that they have an option to buy him back from the Italian outfit for a fee believed to be around €15 million puts them in an advantageous position as well.
Indeed, Sassuolo CEO Giovanni Carnevali recently confirmed in an interview that Chelsea did have the option of re-signing Boga in the upcoming transfer window.
Speaking to TuttoMercatoWeb, he said: “Chelsea can redeem him in June. We have excellent relationships with them, we met them with them before Christmas also for other operations, because we like it as we did with Barcelona, to have a collaborative relationship. They can take him back, but we can also do an operation together, we can take him back, there is total openness.”
Boga is on the radars of a host of clubs including the likes of Everton, Napoli and Inter Milan as well, Goal.com’s Nizaar Kinsella had claimed earlier this month. With interest high in him, Chelsea could look to trigger their buyback clause only to sell him for a bigger transfer fee and make a profit on their former star.
Chelsea’s representatives are expected to meet with the Carnevali imminently to discuss Boga’s future, the report adds. It remains to be seen if the 23-year-old makes a swift return to Stamford Bridge in the summer or moves elsewhere, but it does seem like he might not remain a Sassuolo player beyond the ongoing season.
