With Mauricio Pochettino and his Chelsea side already back in pre-season training, it’s time for the Blues manager to assess where he needs to add some extra value to his squad, and it appears that the west Londoners are looking into re-signing one of their former stars in the wake of Newcastle interest in him.
The Magpies are in the enviable position of being able to afford just about any player on the market should they so wish, thanks to the wealth of owners, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Chelsea’s new owner, Todd Boehly, has also shown that he’s not backwards in coming forwards when spending money in the transfer window, so on this occasion, it would appear to be a simple enough decision from the player in question as to where he sees himself playing.
Unfortunately for both Premier League outfits, Tino Livramento doesn’t appeared too enamoured with either, even though Chelsea have a £38m buyback option on a player they sold to Southampton for just £5m, according to the Evening Standard.
The outlet note that Newcastle have already raised their offer for the player to £21m, though the Saints are believed to want closer to £30m and the Magpies won’t go to that much.
Chelsea’s buyback would represent a price currently above the player’s market value, which transfermarkt note is €21m, so there’s sure to be some sort of negotiation there.
Loaning him back to Southampton for next season before bringing him to the Bridge for the start of the 2024/25 campaign may be something that Livramento will consider acceptable.