Chelsea have quickly turned their attention elsewhere after missing out on Michael Olise, by making an initial move for Rennes starlet Jeremy Doku.
A report from 90min this week claimed that the Belgian is one of the players the Blues have made an enquiry for. The club are looking to see whether a deal could be feasible.
Doku would be a seriously exciting addition to Mauricio Pochettino’s ranks. In fact, he is one player who has actually previously managed to blow Kylian Mbappe away.
Chelsea target Doku previously amazed Mbappe
In comments reported by Get Football News France back in 2021, Mbappe recalled being stunned by the pace of the winger while watching a game from the stands.
“Recently, I was speaking with my father about a player who impressed me from the stands – because I was not playing – because of his speed qualities, that is (Jérémy) Doku, at Rennes. In 5 years as a professional, I have never seen someone from a standing start demonstrate so much power,” he said.
It says a lot that Doku was managing to impress Mbappe. Certainly, whoever manages to lure him away from Rennes is securing an enormous talent with an extremely high ceiling.
The problem for Chelsea is that a host of Premier League sides look to be in the running. The Independent reported this week that Manchester City, West Ham and Tottenham are all in the race to secure the starlet’s signature.
Rennes meanwhile, are said to want £50 million for the wide-man. That report noted that the situation could go right down to the wire at the end of the transfer window.
Of course, the good news for the Chelsea hierarchy is that they have won plenty of transfer battles over the last couple of years. So if we get serious for Doku, there will surely be a real belief that he could end the window at Stamford Bridge.
Judging by Mbappe’s comments, it would be another real statement to be the ones to get a deal across the line in the next couple of weeks.
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