Chelsea Eyeing Surprise £22m Swoop On Liverpool

The opening of the summer transfer window is fast approaching so we’ll bring you all the latest transfer rumours and gossip from around the globe. Today, Chelsea are linked with a shock swoop on Liverpool….

Chelsea will make a shock swoop on Liverpool for out-of-favour striker Christian Benteke if they fail in their quest to resign Everton hitman Romelu Lukaku this summer, according to the Express.

New Chelsea boss Antonio is expected to be busy in the transfer market this summer rebuilding the Blues squad after a disastrous campaign and a striker to support Diego Costa is likely to be a priority.

The Express claim that Lukaku is the Italian coaches top target and Chelsea chiefs will try to lure the Belgian international back to Stamford Bridge just two years after selling him to Everton in a £28m deal.

However, the newspaper says with Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain also showing a keen interest in the 23-year-old – who the Toffees value at £65m – it looks like Chelsea could miss out as the European giants are able to offer the striker Champions League football.

If they do fail to resign Lukaku then the Express are citing a report coming from The Times that suggests Chelsea will then turn their attention to making a surprise move for Liverpool hitman Benteke.

The 25-year-old developed in to one of the most feared strikers in the Premier League during his time at Aston Villa and Liverpool looked to have pulled off something of a coup when they signed the Belgian for £32.5m last summer.

However, Benteke’s time at Anfield has been a nightmare as he’s failed to replicate the type of form he produced at Villa Park and he fell badly out-of-favour when Jurgen Klopp arrived in October.

With Daniel Sturridge, Divock Origi and possibly even Danny Ings all ahead of him in the pecking order, Benteke is expected to leave Liverpool in search of regular first team football and he could be offered a fresh start at Chelsea.

It appears Conte is looking for a strong striker to compete with Costa next season and Benteke does have a similar style of play to Lukaku, so you can see why the Blues boss is considering a move, but it would still be a surprise given the striker’s poor form at Liverpool.

Although one major positive in going for Benteke could be the price-tag as the Express claim that Liverpool could be prepared to cash-in at just £22m, which is over £10m less than they paid for him just 12 months ago.

READ MORE –> Chelsea transfer news | Liverpool transfer news

It would be a tempting deal if Chelsea could land Benteke for that sort of money as it would leave Conte with plenty of money left over to strengthen other areas of the squad, but I’d personally still be surprised if anything came of this.