Chelsea are busy playing Football Manager, splashing the cash on six new players this month to take their spending to £190 million. And they’ve now even had a bid rejected.
Financial fair play, anyone?
Chelsea‘s agreement with PSV for winger Noni Madueke has taken the club’s spending in the January window to £190 million, and to £460 million since Todd Boehly took over.
Mykhailo Mudryk (£88.5m), Joao Felix (£9m – loan), Benoit Badiashile (£35m), David Datro Fofana (£10m) and Andrey Santos (£18m) have all been added to the squad this month.
Chelsea have used extraordinarily long contracts to help them fall within the rules of FFP, an incredibly risky decision that means these players have to be a success.
But they’re not finished there. On Thursday, the Athletic‘s David Ornstein reported that Brighton rejected Chelsea‘s £55 million bid for midfielder Moises Caicedo.
Caicedo has been linked with the Reds but it is Graham Potter’s side who are testing the resolve of his former club. They’re not budging though and insist “he is not for sale.”
As for who will be involved against the Reds in the early Saturday kickoff, Mudryk, who signed an eight-and-a-half-year contract, is expected to be in the squad and likely to start from the bench.
Fellow January arrivals, Badiashile and Fofana could also be involved.
Felix, on the other hand, is suspended and joins a long list of absentees for Chelsea, which includes: Edouard Mendy, ex-Red Raheem Sterling, Wesley Fofana, Armando Broja and Christian Pulisic.
And while N’Golo Kante returned to individual training during the week, he looks set to buck the trend of being back in contention whenever a Liverpool fixture is up next.
Jurgen Klopp, meanwhile, will be hopeful of welcoming Darwin Nunez back into his XI after injury, an update is expected in Friday’s press conference.
Possible Chelsea XI: Kepa; Chalobah, Badiashile, Silva, Hall; Kovacic, Jorginho, Gallagher; Ziyech, Aubameyang, Mount
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