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What’s the story?
Antonio Conte wants the Chelsea board to do just one thing for him – signing players in January. Reports now suggest that the board has asked him to let go of a few players to raise the funds for the transfer targets.
As per reports in Telegraph, Chelsea are set to make a cash + player bid for Thomas Lemar. The interest in the AS Monaco star came to light on Monday and reports now suggest that Michy Batshuayi will be offered in the deal to land the French star.
In case you didn’t know…
Michy Batshuayi has been able to consolidate his place in the starting XI at Chelsea. He was given a chance to prove himself at the start of the season failed to do anything with it.
The Belgian striker has been linked with a move away ever since and is now said to be on his way back to France. He was signed from Marseille by Chelsea last summer for a fee reportedly around £32 million.
The heart of the matter
Antonio Conte wants to sign an attacker and he was his signed in January itself. The manager wants to challenge for a silverware and is desperate to bolster his squad.
Thomas Lemar was close to joining Arsenal in the summer but the Gunners pulled out of the deal at the very last moment. The move would have seen Alexis Sanchez head to Manchester City, so Wenger pulled the plug on Lemar's move to Emirates in the dying hours on Deadline Day.
After that debacle, it's Barcelona who have been constantly linked with Lemar. The Catalan side sees him as Plan B to Philippe Coutinho. They want to sign the Monaco star if they do not get the Brazilian from Liverpool soon.
Video
A look at Thomas Lemar in action:
Author’s Take
Thomas Lemar will be a brilliant addition to the squad but the fact that Antonio Conte is ready to sacrifice Batshuayi for it is a bit scary. It would leave Chelsea with just one striker in the squad and unless they have plans of bringing back Tammy Abraham, it wouldn't be a good move.
