Chelsea ‘ready’ to break wage structure for 31-year-old English international as Enzo Maresca eyes marquee signing: Reports

Chelsea are reportedly willing to break their wage structure in an attempt to sign Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane in the summer. According to Simon Phillips, this deal is not seen as a realistic one, but the Blues could give themselves a better chance by qualifying for the Champions League.

At the moment, the west Londoners are fifth in the Premier League standings, and finishing in this position would be sufficient to play Europe's highest club competition next year. However, they are level on points with sixth-placed Aston Villa and only one point ahead of Nottingham Forest, who are seventh.

With this being the case, a move for Kane may be too ambitious. Moreover, it is likely that the England international will compete for top honors year-on-year with his current employers.

The Bavarian outfit have already been crowned the Bundesliga winners this campaign, a feat that Kane set out to achieve. A prospect that may tempt him to join Chelsea is the fact that he would return to the Premier League, widely considered to be the most competitive league in the world.

For Enzo Maresca and Co., a player of Kane's profile would be perfect, given that Nicolas Jackson is not considered a reliable source of goals. This season, the Senegal international has scored 12 goals in 33 appearances across competitions.

Meanwhile, Kane has had another successful year, scoring 37 times in 45 matches in all competitions.

Manchester United ahead of Chelsea in race for Liam Delap- Reports

While Harry Kane may be out of reach for Chelsea, a more realistic target in the summer seems to be Ipswich Town's Liam Delap. However, reports now claim that Manchester United are front-runners for the Englishman's signature.

Delap has had a good Premier League season this year, bagging 12 goals in 35 matches, with a team that is set to be relegated. Kaveh Solhekol told Sky Sports about the striker's future (via Chelsea News):

“Lots of top clubs are interesting in signing Liam Delap, clubs like Chelsea… but I think it’s interesting that United at the moment are in pole position, and we think he would be happy to move there.”

The aforementioned journalist also revealed that Delap will now be available for £30 million, which is his release clause post-relegation from the Premier League. At Manchester United, he will face competition from Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee for minutes.

About the author

Rahul has been a European football journalist for Sportskeeda since 2023. A B.B.A. L.L.B. graduate, he captained his university football team and also played for Boca Juniors Football School during his initial years, and also coached his university's girls team. He always aims to translate his tactical awareness, knowledge of the sport and first-hand experience into well-researched articles for his readers.

A follower of the beautiful game since 2014, Rahul is an avid Arsenal and a match-going Bengaluru FC fan. His favorite footballer is Mesut Ozil due to his love for nimble-footed playmakers, while his favorite manager is the legendary Arsene Wenger owing to the Frenchman's attractive style of football.

Rahul, whose favorite FIFA World Cup moment is Lionel Messi lifting the trophy in 2022, has interviewed grassroots expert Tom Byer in the past and gained insight into Japanese football. He also believes Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland can rule the footballing world and take Ronaldo and Messi's place.

When he is not writing, Rahul likes to spend his time playing football, following the Indian Super League and watching other sports. He is also a huge cricket fan and supports Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

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Edited by Rahul Naresh