The World Cup is often a scouting pool for buying clubs and that is no different this summer, with Chelsea eyeing a move for one of the competition’s stand-out stars – shining under Graham Potter.
Nicolas Jackson impressed for Senegal, Moises Caicedo helped Ecuador get a draw and Reece James played the entire 90 minutes as England surpassed Croatia on Wednesday night with a 4-2 victory.
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But they are not the only Chelsea players, or players linked with Chelsea, currently catching the eye at the World Cup with every nation now having played. Sweden produced the second-biggest win so far.
With former Chelsea manager Graham Potter in charge, Sweden are hoping to be among the dark horses in the competition. A 5-1 win over Tunisia was promising, but it was a midfielder that stole the show.
Graham Potter’s World Cup star emerges as a Chelsea target
During Sweden’s demolition of Tunisia, Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres caught the eye, perhaps unsurprisingly. But it was Brighton midfielder Yasin Ayari who was excellent, scoring twice for Sweden.
His goals come at the same time as a report from TeamTalk, which states Chelsea are among a high-profile group of clubs that are interested in signing Ayari, who typically plays his football for Brighton.
Indeed, Chelsea are said to have been scouting Ayari sporadically over the last 12 months. But they are not alone, with Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig all interested.
Ayari might be available for a sale this summer, with the midfielder entering the final two years of his contract at The Amex. But with Brighton in Europe next season, Chelsea may struggle to tempt him.
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Typically, Ayari could have played for Tunisia and yet, he was the man to score his fourth and fifth career goals for Sweden against them. It is also typical that Chelsea are interested in another Brighton player.
They’ve both made good starts to the World Cup, but who do you prefer: Noni Madueke or Pedro Neto?
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To this date, Chelsea have signed seven players from Brighton including youngsters Zak Sturge and Shim Mhueka. Joao Pedro, Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez, Moises Caicedo and Facundo Buonanotte, too.
Now, Ayari could be eight. But the World Cup is set to increase his price tag and Brighton have already shown their prowess this summer with the £52m sale of Jan Paul van Hecke to Tottenham Hotspur.
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