Chelsea and Arsenal are reportedly interested in signing Feyenoord midfielder Gjivai Zechiël, as per Caught Offside.
Despite selling Andrey Santos and Enzo Fernandez this summer, the Blues only signed Jordan Henderson to reinforce the midfield department.
Moreover, they allowed Dario Essugo to join their sister club, Strasbourg, on loan. He struggled with fitness problems last term after joining from Sporting CP.
As a result, Xabi Alonso currently has Henderson plus Moisés Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Valentin Barco as specialist deeper midfield options.
However, Caicedo has been out injured in recent weeks, while Lavia has had numerous fitness problems since joining from Southampton a few years ago.
Alonso has used Reece James and Malo Gusto in the engine room, although they are right-backs by trait. Therefore, it appears Chelsea are considering signing a new midfielder in January.
Now, Caught Offside claim that Chelsea are interested in Zechiël after monitoring his development closely in recent times. Moreover, Arsenal have been keeping a close eye on him before making a potential swoop in mid-season.
Battle
LOSC Lille expressed their interest in signing him this summer and launched a formal proposal, but Feyenoord eventually managed to keep hold of him by rejecting the proposal.
The report state that with the player’s existing deal set to run until 2028, the Eredivisie giants are determined not to let him leave for cheap in January and want around £26m[€30m].
The 22-year-old is a right-footed player and can be deployed in the defensive midfield and box-to-box roles. The Dutchman has enjoyed a promising start this season, making nine goal contributions across all competitions already.
Arsenal decided to refresh the engine room by signing Bruno Guimaraes, having allowed Christian Norgaard to join Everton this summer. But Mikel Arteta is seemingly keen on adding further depth to this position.
Zechiël is a talented player and possesses high potential. Therefore, he might be a shrewd acquisition for Arsenal or Chelsea should either club purchase him.
However, it is going to be interesting to see whether the North London club or the West London club eventually make a concrete approach to secure his services in January or next summer.
Other News
