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Chelsea secured a hard-fought 4-2 win over Leicester City on Sunday, March 17, in the FA Cup quarterfinal. Marc Cucurella, Cole Palmer, Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke found the back of the net to help Mauricio Pochettino's side reach the semifinal.
Meanwhile, the Blues are interested in Bruno Guimaraes. Elsewhere, the London giants are planning to offload multiple players at the end of the season.
On that note, here's a look at the key Chelsea transfer stories as on March 18, 2024:
Chelsea eyeing Bruno Guimaraes
Chelsea are interested in Bruno Guimaraes, according to AS. The Blues have invested heavily in midfield since co-owner Todd Boehly took over the reins at the club.
The London giants signed Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in January 2023 in a reported £107 million deal. Moises Caicedo arrived from Brighton & Hove Albion for a British record £115 million move six months later.
However, Boehly isn't done yet with rejigging his midfield, as he's planning to rope in Guimaraes at the end of the season. The Brazilian has been impressive for Newcastle United this season, registering three goals and seven assists in 40 outings across competitions.
He has been on Chelsea's radar for a while, and the club are planning to go for the kill this summer. The player has a £100 million release clause in his contract, but the Blues are planning to secure a deal with three payments of £33 million each.
Blues planning summer exodus, says former CEO
Chelsea are planning to offload multiple players at the end of the season, says former Everton and Aston Villa chief executive Keith Wyness.
The Blues have invested heavily on new faces in recent years and are now suffering from a bloated squad. Changes are expected this summer amid another indifferent season.
On the Inside Track podcast, Wyness said that the London giants are in talks to offload recently acquired players to the Middle East this summer.
"I think they’ll want to keep homegrown players at the club as much as possible, despite the FFP implications of selling them.
"But I know for a fact that some of the players bought very recently by the Boehly regime have been mentioned in discussions with Saudi officials and clubs," said Wyness.
He added:
"We’ll see what comes out of the summer window, but these are big names and Chelsea paid big money to sign them. This could be their escape hatch from financial rule breaches, selling these players on to Saudi Arabia.”
Pochettino is likely to demand new additions to his squad as well if he lasts the summer.
Conor Gallahger could see out his contract at Stamford Bridge, says journalist
Conor Gallagher could run down his contract at Chelsea, according to journalist Dharmesh Sheth.
The English midfielder is a first-team regular under Pochettino this season, but his contract expires in less than 18 months. Gallagher is yet to sign a new deal, amid mounting speculation regarding his future. Tottenham Hotspur have been trying to sign the 24-year-old for a while and could return for him next summer.
However, speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Sheth pointed out that Gallagher could also opt to leave next season as a free agent.
"Gallagher could stay there and see out his contract. That is the last thing Chelsea will want to do because they know, and they've used this in the last couple of seasons when they've tried to comply with all of the financial regulations, particularly when it comes to players who have come through the academy at Chelsea, everything that goes in the books when they sell those players goes down as pure profit," said Sheth.
He continued:
"So they will not want to be in a situation where Conor Gallagher leaves for free. They will have to make a decision one way or another come the summer."
The English midfielder has appeared 37 times across competitions this season for the Blues, registering four goals and seven assists.
