Chelsea make contact to land “gifted” £68m star

Will yet another summer spending spree at Chelsea continue?

Already this window, the Blues have spent in excess of £220m to recruit eight new players, including Estêvão Willian, Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap, João Pedro and others.

Now though, the newly-crowned Club World Cup champions have their eye on a Premier League superstar.

Chelsea’s search for more attackers

Of the new recruits mentioned above, suffice it to say that Pedro has made the biggest immediate impression.

On his full debut, having been on a beach in Brazil just a matter of days earlier, the striker scored two absolute thunderbolts against former side Fluminense in the Club World Cup semi-finals, before adding the third during the 3-0 final demolition of PSG a few days later.

Ahmed Walid of the Athletic outlines how he has made an immediate impact, despite extremely ‘limited training time with the squad’, suggesting the Blues would not have won the competition without him.

Nevertheless, Chelsea could now sign an even bigger Premier League star for even more than the £60m paid to secure Pedro’s services.

That’s because, according to a report by Mark Brus of Caught Offside, Chelsea have been in contact with Eberechi Eze’s representatives over a potential move, as they enter talks over a potential move for the attacking midfielder.

Ed Aarons of the Guardian has previously documented Arsenal and Tottenham’s interest in the England international, noting that his contract contains a £67.5m release clause, with Palace ‘adamant’ that he will only be allowed to leave if that price point is met.

The Gunners have appeared to be the front-runners to sign Eze, but could Chelsea usurp their fierce London rivals, just as they did to infamously sign Mykhailo Mudryk for a reported fee of £88.7m back in January 2023?

How Eberechi Eze would improve Chelsea

Eze scored 14 goals and registered 11 assists in all competitions last season, most notably bagging the winner in the FA Cup Final as Crystal Palace upset the odds to defeat Manchester City at Wembley in May.

His performances warranted rave reviews, with Statman Dave labelling him a “gifted player”, while Simon Collings of the Evening Standard praised his ‘ability to play off the cuff and create something out of nothing’, adding that supporters are instantaneously enamoured by his ‘flamboyant playing style’.

Meanwhile, Sam Tabuteau of Breaking the Lines notes that he is ‘thriving as the talisman’ at Selhurst Park, believing now is the right time for the 27-year-old to make the next step in his career.

So, how did he compare to Chelsea’s most recent, big-money intra-Premier League signing, Pedro?

As the table outlines, Eze comes out on top for every single attacking metric included, both in terms of overall and on a per 90 basis.

In fact, only four players attempted more take-ons than Eze in the league last season, while also ranking sixth for shot-creating actions, both according to FBref.com.

Pedro played around 500 fewer minutes in the Premier League, mainly due to the fact that he didn’t feature in any of Brighton’s final five matches to conclude the campaign, first sent off against Brentford, subsequently serving a three-match suspension, before being exiled following a ‘training ground altercation’ with teammate Jan Paul van Hecke.

No such concerns surrounding Eze, who is a truly majestic player to watch, and would be a serious statement signing for Chelsea, even if they already boast plenty of options in attacking areas, as he could be even better than Pedro.