Chelsea ‘make contact’ with club over Ousmane Dembele alternative, but rival emerges
Chelsea have reportedly contacted Real Madrid over the availability of Marco Asensio after making him an alternative to Ousmane Dembele.
Barcelona winger Dembele is out of contract in the summer and looks set for a transfer. Blaugrana Director Mateu Alemany recently confirmed as much, saying he is ‘not committed to Barca’s future project’.
That drew an angry response from Dembele, who insisted he is available for selection and dedicated to Xavi’s side.
But Barcelona clearly want to cut their losses and a transfer could be agreed before January 31. Chelsea and Newcastle are both keeping tabs on the attacker’s situation.
If Chelsea miss out on Dembele, then there is another solution. According to football.london, who cite Spanish outlet Defensa Central, the Blues have begun initial discussions over Real Madrid winger Asensio.
They want to know if the Spanish giants would be open to a sale later this year. Asensio has been in decent form this campaign, netting seven goals in 23 appearances.
That includes a hat-trick during a 6-1 La Liga thrashing of his former club Mallorca in September. However, Asensio remains behind Vinicius Junior in Carlo Ancelotti’s plans, which is why Chelsea are aiming to try their luck.
Rival for Marco Asensio appears
The Champions League holders are not the only club to have made contact. According to the original report, Paris Saint-Germain want to be made aware of any changes to Asensio’s situation.
They could launch a bid for him if Kylian Mbappe moves to the Bernabeu once his contract expires this summer. Asensio would be one of several players to come in and replace him.
The report adds that Madrid will not make a decision on Asensio until the end of the campaign. They want to see if the 26-year-old can improve his influence on the team before agreeing to an exit.
Asensio cost just €3.9m when joining Los Blancos from Mallorca in July 2015. He is now valued at £36m by transfermarkt, suggesting it would not be a cheap addition to the Chelsea squad.
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Chelsea man in Bayern’s sights
Meanwhile, Bayern are reportedly hoping to sign Andreas Christensen after one of their players rejected the offer of a new contract.
Chelsea are desperate for him to sign a new deal as his current terms expire on June 30. However, they have been unable to finalise an extension so far, leading to rumours of an exit.
Goal claim Bayern are ‘eyeing a move’ for the Dane. They want to sort out a pre-contract agreement in the coming months, allowing him to join for free in the summer.
Barcelona have been the frontrunners to land Christensen, although Bayern’s interest could now scupper their plans.
The Bavarians’ interest comes after one of their stars opted not to carry on at the club. According to the report, Niklas Sule will not pen an extension, despite terms worth €10million (£8.3m) being put on the table by Bayern.
Sule’s desire to move on is great news for Newcastle, who are hoping to bring him in this year. The German would improve their backline greatly.
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