Chelsea look set to miss out ‘special’ player who is very high on Enzo Maresca’s shortlist

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Chelsea have signed so many players in recent years to rebuild the squad, but they’ve just been dealt a blow in their hopes of signing a new transfer target.

Many people have questioned the transfer strategy from the Chelsea owners in the last couple of years. In fairness, they’ve now ended up in a position where Blues head coach Enzo Maresca does have a talented Chelsea squad to work with.

Chelsea felt they had a decent summer transfer window, and they went into this weekend sitting fifth in the league table.

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Chelsea dealt blow to hopes of signing Patrick Dorgu

Leece defender Patrick Dorgu, 20, is a player who’s been linked with the Blues recently in the transfer rumour mill. Chelsea have Dorgu ‘very high’ on their shortlist for a new left-back, so they continue to scout the versatile youngster.

However, fresh reports now suggest that Enzo Maresca’s side could miss out on the Serie A full-back.

GiveMeSport claims that Chelsea, along with Premier League rivals Tottenham and Liverpool, have an interest in Leece’s Dorgu.

It is explained that the 20-year-old is more likely to join a rival top-flight club in Italy if he does end up leaving Leece.

The report says that the £34m-rated defender has started to attract interest from Serie A giants Napoli. Apparently, it’s now increasingly likely that Dorgu will remain in Italy.

Steffen Højer, the Denmark Under-21 coach, described Dorgu as “special” back in 2023 via bold. He’s since kicked on and become an important first-team player at club level for Leece.

Do Chelsea need to replace Ben Chilwell?

If Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell does leave in 2025, should the club be focusing on bringing in a replacement?

Manchester United are interested in signing Chelsea left-back Chilwell. It feels inevitable that the Englishman will eventually leave because he’s been frozen out of the picture by Maresca.

You could argue that there’s enough depth in the left-back spot for the Blues not to go after another option in the transfer market. Marc Cucurella and Renato Veiga are competing for the starting position, plus we’ve even seen versatile defenders Reece James and Malo Gusto cover on the left this season.