Everton hand Chelsea a killer blow in their pursuit of Anthony Gordon this summer.
According to 90min, Premier League giants Chelsea have been handed a major blow in their pursuit of Everton sensation Anthony Gordon this summer.
The Blues parted ways with Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner this season and are short of reliable options in attack. Armando Broja is yet to impress, while Michy Batshuayi has never quite enjoyed the faith of the Stamford Bridge decision-makers.
Raheem Sterling has been the standout attacker for the Blues this season but lacks the same support from elsewhere in the squad. Kai Havertz is drawing blanks while the likes of Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic have been uninspiring. With Callum Hudson-Odoi set to join Bayer Leverkusen, Thomas Tuchel must bring in reinforcements.
Gordon is one such player and has shown vestiges of great promise at Goodison Park. He played a starring role for the Toffees in their fight against relegation last season and has been Frank Lampard’s standout player this time around. The former Chelsea manager is in no mood to do his ex-employers any favours and has urged Everton to cut short negotiations.
The Toffees have walked away from talks, and with just hours to go before the summer transfer window, Chelsea will be hard pressed to reach an agreement. The Blues saw an initial offer of £40million rejected, even going as far as to offer £60m to no avail.
While the player is keen to move to Stamford Bridge, Everton appear to have made their decision. Chelsea too appears to realise the difficulty in forcing the Toffees’ hand and are now looking at alternatives. One of the names on their radar is that of Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha. Whether the Eagles ace will be allowed to leave this late in the window is another question.
Signing Gordon would have handed Chelsea a young versatile attacker who has already shown an aptitude for finding the back of the net. His drive and willingness to put in the hard work make him an ideal player for Tuchel’s system. Unfortunately for the German, he will now need to wait at the very least to renew any move to land the 21-year-old.
