NEWS. . . BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Chelsea beat Roma in the signing of Rennes right-back Guela Doué, with the defender set to be the club’s seventh signing in the summer transfer window.
The Blues have been busy in the transfer market in a bid to rekindle the Enzo Maresca era, with Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Guiu, Caleb Wiley, Renato Veiga, Omari Kellyman and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall arriving at Stamford Bridge.
It is understood that Chelsea are also in the process of striking a deal for Villarreal goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, who is expected to arrive in west London at a festival for Robert Sanchez.
According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Doue deserves to move forward in a move that has gone unnoticed until now. The report claims that the 21-year-old will join Chelsea for a fee of around €7m (£5. 9m). plus €2m (£1. 7m) in bonuses.
But Doué will be loaned to Strasbourg for next season to guarantee normal football in the first team.
The flexible Ivory Coast foreigner, who is comfortable playing as a right-back, centre-back and defensive midfielder, had also attracted interest from Roma after rejecting the offer of a new contract with Rennes earlier this summer.
Doué only has one year left on his current contract in Brittany and the Ligue 1 side have to cash in on their academy product to avoid wasting the player on a sketchy move in 12 months’ time.
After joining Rennes at the age of eight, Doué rose through the academy and made his senior debut as a second-half substitute in a 3-0 win over Strasbourg in February 2023.
The youngster has played 35 games in the French top flight and has made two appearances for the Ivory Coast national team.
Doué’s older brother, Désiré, plays for Rennes and his cousins Yann Gboho and Marc-Olivier Doué play for Toulouse and Eldense respectively.
Speaking to the media after Chelsea’s pre-season draw against Wrexham, Maresca said “anything” was imaginable in the transfer market, with more than a month to go.
When asked about Chelsea’s plans, Maresca told reporters: “When the transfer window opens, everything can be for us and for the rest. “
Pressed on Chelsea’s interest in Villarreal goalkeeper Jorgensen, Maresca added: “We’ll see, we’ll see.
“Right now we have 4 goalkeepers. [Dorde] Petrovic is still injured with us. We’ll see with time.
“What I can say is that Robert [Sánchez] did very well tonight and very well since we started. Of course, the way we have to play, the goalkeeper is very, very, one of the main positions.
“And I don’t need to talk about players other than Chelsea players, but I am very satisfied with Robert. “
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