It seems that the move of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain has already started creating ripples across the European clubs. The mammoth £222 million fee that the Ligue 1 club splurged on the Brazilian will trade many hands that can change the whole pattern that the rumour mill has been following so far this summer.
And the Spanish news outlet Don Balon’s latest claim shows exactly that. According to them, Chelsea have now pipped Arsenal, Real Madrid and Manchester City in landing French sensation Kylian Mbappe. The Blues owner Roman Abramovich is apparently concerned about losing their talismanic Eden Hazard to the Catalans following Neymar’s departure and they want their replacement in sight.
Chelsea are entering one of their most challenging seasons this month where both the players and the manager have a lot to prove. Their title winning campaign was widely seen as a smooth run where the cash rich club could cherry pick their targets in the transfer window and got a home run with no hectic schedule to bother them.
Their absence from the European competitions and an early exit from EFL cup pretty much gave them a massive advantage over all the other challengers to the title and the FA Cup final defeat was enough to cement the popular belief. Conte challenges on four fronts this season and if he doesn’t have Hazard by his side, then Mbappe is an absolute necessity.
It goes without saying that Hazard would cost Barcelona over £100 million if rumours of the market being inflated are anything to go by. And it would pretty much help Chelsea facilitate the deal for Mbappe, whose price tag has been set above that mark by AS Monaco.
The 18-year-old would definitely be a like for like replacement for Hazard, given his tremendous dribbling abilities and sublime finishes. His pace on and off the ball and sharp movements have convinced all that he is much more than a one season wonder.
Since breaking into Monaco’s first team back in 2015, the Bondy-born has scored 27 goals and provided 16 assists in 59 games for the club. Though he is yet to open his account for France’s senior team where he has been capped only four times yet, he is widely expected to create a storm in the upcoming World Cup next year.
Real Madrid are currently in the driving seat to secure his services after the sale of Alvaro Morata followed by Arsenal who had made giant strides towards convincing him, but Chelsea could leapfrog them in no time in the next few weeks.
