Chelsea are long-term admirers of Brighton teenager Evan Ferguson.
Brighton will resist any move for the 19-year-old forward, who has just signed a contract until 2029 and could cost more than £100million.
The Seagulls have no pressure to sell and don’t need to lose a gem to Chelsea, who they controlled to convince to pay £115m for Moises Caicedo last summer.
Brighton’s reluctance to lose another star to Chelsea is considered to be a major stumbling block to any potential future deal for Ferguson.
The Republic of Ireland attracted interest from Manchester United and Tottenham last summer, who were linked with a resolution to update Harry Kane.
Alan Shearer last year described Ferguson, who has scored six goals in 24 appearances for Brighton this season, as a “very special talent” who “could be a superstar”.
Ferguson’s profile suits the youth-centric strategy Chelsea have adopted in the transfer market and would mean they would have to break away from their salary structure to sign a top-tier striker.
Victor Osimhen and Ivan Toney could ask for upwards of £200,000 per week, while Ferguson would probably need around a chunk of that amount.
Chelsea have already attacked Brighton for several players, in addition to a manager, and the Seagulls will be looking for a solution for some other asset. The Blues paid £63 million for left-back Marc Cucurella, £25 million for goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and £21. 5 million. for Graham Potter, a record amount for a manager.
Chelsea also robbed director Paul Winstanley, scout Kyle Macaulay and Brighton’s leading goalkeeper Ben Roberts, paying more than £200 million to the south coast club in three transfer windows.
The Blues have made a new striker their most sensible priority when it comes to transfers, but Mauricio Pochettino insists they are in no hurry to sign a striker in January.
Although Chelsea will have plenty of cash to spend this summer, their transfer fund will be reduced if they fail to qualify for Europe again.
Osimhen has a £112m release clause in his Napoli contract. Brentford have ruled out a January departure for Toney and are likely to demand more than £80m for him at the end of the season.
Chelsea have been linked with Feyenoord’s Santiago Giménez, RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko and Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy.
This month, Les Bleus are making sure to respect the rules of profit and sustainability. Conor Gallagher and Trevoh Chalobah face a dubious future at Stamford Bridge.
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