Manchester United are reportedly worried that Chelsea could swoop in and beat them to sign a £50m-rated striker during the final weeks of the summer transfer window.
Chelsea have for so long been looking to find a prolific centre-forward to lead the line, but it’s something that has alluded them for a while now.
In fairness, Nicolas Jackson had a decent debut season last year with 17 goals across all competitions. His all-round game is fantastic and he works very hard, but he’s not an out-and-out goalscorer.
During a recent interview sourced by Football.London, Enzo Maresca stressed he considers Jackson a central striker.
There’s widespread reports in the media that Chelsea are signing forward Samu Omorodion from Atletico Madrid to bolster the attacking options. In fact, journalist Fabrizio Romano reported via X that Omorodion to Chelsea is a done deal, but it just needs official confirmation from the clubs involved.
Manchester United fear Chelsea could yet make Evan Ferguson bid
According to The Daily Star, Man United are weighing up a late move this summer to sign Brighton’s Evan Ferguson.
It is explained that Erik ten Hag’s side are long-term admirers of the 19-year-old striker, but they’re actually fearful of rival interest from Chelsea in the race to sign him.
The report explains that it’ll take an offer worth £50m-plus to tempt Brighton into selling Ferguson, who’s under contract at the Amex Stadium until the summer of 2029.
This comes after journalist Simon Phillips reported via Substack earlier this week that Ferguson’s name came up at Chelsea again recently. There’s certainly no links out there yet suggesting that the Blues will go all out for the Brighton frontman, though.
Should Chelsea ramp up Evan Ferguson interest?
As much as Ferguson looks like a future star, he’s not the right kind of profile for Chelsea right now. There’s already several young forwards at the club with Jackson, Omorodion and Marc Guiu.
If the club are serious about adding another No 9 to the squad, it has to be someone proven and with experience of scoring regularly at the highest level.
Speaking via The Athletic last September, Alan Shearer did praise Ferguson as a “very special talent”. The Brighton ace has had injury problems since and missed the back end of last season, but his size and maturity for someone so young is very impressive.
The simple fact is that Chelsea can’t own every highly-rated talent, though!
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