Chelsea are preparing to bring Alfonso Pedraza as a competition for Ben Chilwell, while the club looks to offload Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri.
According to Transfer Market Web, Chelsea are planning an approach for Alfonso Pedraza in the coming days. The Villareal left-back could cost over €20 million, while his arrival could cast doubts on the futures of Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri.
Chelsea’s focus in the transfer market has been acquiring a top-rated striker alongside a right-sided central defender. Their forward targets ranged from Erling Haaland to Robert Lewandowski, and it seems the Premier League club have finally settled on bringing Romelu Lukaku, who is set to rejoin them.
However, their chase for Jules Kounde has somewhat tailed off in the past days, although Chelsea are hopeful of concluding a deal for the Sevilla man.
They are also looking into bringing a new left-back despite having plenty of options within their ranks. Emerson Palmieri and Marcos Alonso have been in and out of the team last season behind first-choice Ben Chilwell. Chelsea might look to offload the duo mentioned above and bring in a replacement.
With Alonso and Emerson failing to provide any meaningful competition to Chilwell, Thomas Tuchel is searching for a player to do that. Their primary target looks like Villarreal’s Alfonso Pedraza, who had an impressive season with the Yellow Submarines, winning the Europa League.
Barcelona were also showing an interest previously, but with the Catalan side’s well-documented financial struggles, which has seen superstar Lionel Messi depart Camp Nou, a move for Pedraza seems unlikely. It leaves Chelsea as the frontrunner to sign him up.
However, before the Blues make a move, they have to make sure the likes of Alonso or Emerson leave. There has been some interest in the Italian from Serie A clubs, although they may not be willing to meet Chelsea’s demand for at least €20 million. Likewise, Alonso is attracting interest from La Liga sides, but nothing concrete yet.
Chelsea had even included Alonso in a bid for Lukaku in addition to £85 million in cash. However, the Italians were not interested in the Spaniard. However, with Chelsea readying to move for Pedraza, it looks like both Emerson and Alonso will get their moves away from Stamford Bridge, although it could be late in the window.
Tuchel wants Pedraza to provide him with a different option to Chilwell. Meaning, we could see the German manager regularly rotate his left-backs given the type of opponents they might face. Overall, Pedraza is proven quality and will bring value if signed by Chelsea.
