Chelsea’s search for a new midfielder has seen them turn to Premier League rivals Manchester City.
It is thought that Chelsea want to strengthen in the middle of the park before the transfer window closes on Monday after another serious injury to Romeo Lavia.
Chelsea have, of course, done business with Manchester City before. They signed Cole Palmer from them in 2023, which proved to be one of the deals of the summer.
The Blues could now try to repeat the same trick with a different City player this time. David Luiz recently praised Palmer, comparing the attacking midfielder to Chelsea legend Eden Hazard.
Chelsea make Nico O’Reilly enquiry
After the success of Palmer, it looks like Chelsea are trying to raid City again in their bid to reinforce their midfield.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea have sent an enquiry to the Premier League champions about Nico O’Reilly.
City seem reluctant to let O’Reilly go, though, with Romano also reporting that the Citizens do not want to lose future control of the player.
It suggests that City may be ready to loan the England U20 international out, but Chelsea will surely want a permanent deal.
While O’Reilly could be joining Chelsea, one midfielder has already left. After a drawn out transfer saga, Cesare Casadei has finally departed Chelsea for Torino.
Chelsea getting things wrong with Nico O’Reilly enquiry
If Chelsea do go on to sign O’Reilly, no one will be writing him off. You cannot after everything Palmer has done following his move from the Etihad to Stamford Bridge.
However, with the Blues already possessing Andrey Santos, you cannot help but feel that he should have just been recalled instead.
The 20-year-old is having a phenomenal season at Strasbourg, scoring seven goals in 19 Ligue 1 appearances. It is a really good return for a midfielder.
For whatever reason, though, the club want to go down the O’Reilly route, which does not make much sense right now.
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