Chelsea are 13th in the Premier League for goals scored this season (23) and have netted one or less times in their last 10 games in all competitions, so it’s little wonder the Blues wanted to sign Marcus Thuram in January.
As per 90min, Chelsea had talks with the player’s representatives and hoped to get a deal over the line before the winter transfer window shut, but their pursuit of the 25-year-old failed.
Borussia Monchengladbach rebuffed all approaches as they hoped to tie Thuram down to a new deal, but the French international was unwilling to sign a contract extension at Borussia-Park amid interest from a host of European giants.
It’s led sporting director Roland Virkus to admit defeat in keeping Thuram beyond the summer. Gladbach opted against cashing in while the striker still had value, but now they look likely to lose him for nothing.
Virkus told Sport1 via Goal: “We’ve decided to allow Thuram to leave. The fact he will leave for free is not a positive situation. I can’t sugarcoat it. We have to accept that there are bigger clubs he might move to.”
Bargain
This is good news for Chelsea as they desperately need a prolific striker. As per Transfermarkt, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has just three goals from 17 games, Armando Broja has one goal from 18 games, Joao Felix has one goal from four games and David Datro Fofana has zero goals from two games – a total of five goals from 41 combined appearances.
Thuram has 14 goals and four assists from 22 games this season and is valued at around £28m by Transfermarkt, so he could be a bargain acquisition if Chelsea manage to sign him for free this summer. The French international joined Gladbach from Guingamp in 2019 and boasts 42 goals with 26 assists from 124 games, so this campaign is no fluke.
Chelsea will have competition for his signature, however, with Arsenal and Manchester United also showing an interest in January. The Blues might struggle to edge out their Premier League rivals for mutual transfer targets as they don’t look like finishing in a European spot come May.
Potter’s men are 10th after 23 games and 11 points adrift of the top-four. They’re without a win in their last four outings and haven’t scored more than one goal in any game since December.
Thuram has twice as many goals than Aubameyang, Felix, Broja and Fofana combined too, but it remains to be seen if he’ll pick Chelsea over Arsenal or Man Utd if approaches are made when his contract expires.
