Chelsea have reportedly joined Arsenal in the race to sign LOSC Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, as per Spanish outlet Fichajes.
The Blues currently have Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández, Romeo Lavia, Dario Essugo, and Andrey Santos as options to deploy in the engine room.
However, Lavia and Essugo struggled with fitness problems last term, while Santos is still very young and isn’t ready to help the West London club achieve their lofty ambitions.
On the other hand, Fernandez has been heavily linked with a move away, with Real Madrid being mentioned as his preferred destination. So, it appears Xabi Alonso is planning to upgrade the midfield department.
Fichajes state that after displaying impressive performance vs Brazil in his World Cup debut, Bouaddi has attracted a lot of attention in recent days.
Arsenal have been strongly linked with a move for the youngster in recent weeks but it looks like Chelsea are now trying to gazump their London rivals.
The outlet says ‘in recent hours’ Chelsea have joined the race and are ‘pushing hard’ to finalise the operation. Having recently handed the midfielder a fresh term until 2029, Lille don’t want to sell him this summer and are eager to keep hold of him for one more year at least.
Bouaddi to Chelsea
However, Les Dogues have slapped a £52m price tag on his head if they are forced to cash-in on him this summer. Chelsea are even preparing to launch a formal proposal and are willing to match the French side’s asking price by including bonuses.
Bouaddi is a 6ft 1in tall, right-footed, technically gifted deep-lying playmaker. He is composed with possession, can play threading passes between the lines, and is efficient in defensive contributions. Bouaddi made 42 appearances across all competitions last term, registering a solitary assist.
The 18-year-old is a highly talented player and possesses the necessary physical attributes to flourish in the Premier League. So, he might be a shrewd acquisition for Chelsea should they purchase him in this window.
However, it is going to be interesting to see whether the West London club eventually manage to lure him to Stamford Bridge by defeating other clubs in this race.
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