Chelsea are to prioritise the signing of Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez despite the departure of Thomas Tuchel.
Tuchel was sacked as Chelsea manager recently, with new owner Todd Boehly looking to take the club in a different direction.
A poor start to the season didn’t help, but ultimately Boehly wanted to bring in a fresh manager with new ideas in Graham Potter.
Now, according to journalist Ben Jacobs, Chelsea’s priority in January was to bring in Ajax midfielder Alvarez, but the arrival of Potter shouldn’t change that.
The report claims that as it stands, Alvarez is still Chelsea’s priority, so Potter doesn’t appear to have stamped his authority on this transfer idea just yet.
Chelsea have also been linked to Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, and Potter could try and convince the owners to bring in his former midfielder after such an impressive start to the season.
Rather than allowing the manager to conduct the transfer business, it makes sense to continue to target players previously scouted, as the recruitment team will have suggested the player for a good reason, and allowing a manager to take control of transfers could have a detrimental effect if they fail to get results and are ultimately sacked.