Chelsea remain keen on a potential transfer deal for Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez after holding talks over signing him during the summer.
The Mexico international has impressed in his time in the Eredivisie, and Fabrizio Romano recently revealed that the Blues tried to get him to Stamford Bridge late on in the summer transfer window.
Writing again in his exclusive CaughtOffside column, Romano says Chelsea continue to have Alvarez on their list of targets, though it seems they are yet to make a final decision on who their priority for that position will be.
Another issue for Chelsea is that Ajax are seemingly determined not to let Alvarez go in January, so Alvarez may have to wait until next summer, or else CFC will have to look at other alternatives if they do decide they need a new signing in midfield this winter.
“He’s always been on Chelsea’s list, but Ajax will try to keep him at least until the end of the season,” Romano explained.
“There are no negotiations ongoing now, also no decision will be made by Chelsea on new midfielder in October; it will take some time. Not an easy one, for sure.”
Chelsea could do with strengthening in midfield soon as they face a worrying situation in that department at the moment, with both N’Golo Kante and Jorginho set to be out of contract at the end of the season.
Kante is also ageing and increasingly injury-prone, so it makes sense for Chelsea to target someone like Alvarez as a long-term replacement.
The 24-year-old looks a superb defensive midfield player and has also filled in as a centre-back on occasion, so he could be a useful option for Graham Potter’s squad.
Ajax lost their manager Erik ten Hag and two star players in Antony and Lisandro Martinez to Manchester United in the summer, though, so they will be desperate to avoid losing more of their stars.