According to respected journalist Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are working to sign Dinamo Moscow midfielder Arsen Zakharyan.
The 19-year-old was close to joining the London giants in a deal worth £13 million last summer, but the deal collapsed due to UEFA and FIFA’s restrictions on signing Russian players.
The teenager has not given up on his dream move and speaking to Caught Offside, Romano has revealed that Chelsea are now working on a fresh deal to sign him. Moreover, the Italian journalist says Zakharyan ‘wants the move’ so hopefully things will work out this time around.
He said: “Arsen Zakharyan wants the move to Chelsea and they’re working to sign him. They have many, really many talents in the radar but now with new directors the decision will be re-discussed again.”
Potential
Zakharyan is an attacking midfielder with a lot of potential. The youngster had a fine 2021/22 season, netting nine goals and providing nine assists from 34 appearances in all competitions. This campaign, he has three goals and six assists to his name from 20 matches for the Russian club.
The midfielder is valued at £13m [€15m] by Transfermarket so Chelsea will hope they can agree a similar deal to the one that was on the table last summer.
Chelsea have identified his talents at the earliest and a January transfer may depend on whether Zakharyan can become an Armenian citizen. The playmaker will travel to Armenia next month to apply for his citizenship and if successful it could improve his chances of getting a working visa in the United Kingdom.
Since the takeover from Clearlake Capital Group this year, Chelsea have spent massive sums on players but the focus has also been on pursuing on upcoming talents. Carney Chukwuemeka, Gabriel Slonina and Cesare Casadei were all signed during the 2022 summer transfer window.
Zakharyan could be the next in line. Chelsea have a bright plan for the future but the owners also need to look into the short-term. A marquee striker is required in January if they want to salvage their league season where they are lying eighth and already eight points behind the top four.
