Chelsea monitor Wirtz and Ligue 1 teenage starlet

Jacque Talbot

1 Jul 2023 14:06 BST
3 min read

Florian Wirtz, Bayer Leverkusen, 2021/22 — © ProShots

Chelsea are linked to Florian Wirtz and Rayan Cherki.

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In what would be a sensational move, the Blues are eyeing up the pair of youngsters ahead of next season.

Football Insider reporter Fraser Fletcher reported that both players are on the radar of Chelsea.

Cherki is currently with Lyon and would mark a huge move, having done so well at the Under-21s for France this summer.

The attacker is a huge talent and is considered the next big thing at the Ligue 1 outfit.

Meanwhile, Wirtz is a superstar in the making at Bayer Leverkusen. The German came back from a long layoff last season and has been making waves in the Bundesliga.

© ProShots - Cherki is also liked by Chelsea

Colwill liked by Liverpool

It comes after the story that Chelsea centre-back Levi Colwill has emerged as a potential summer transfer target for Liverpool.

The Blues are said to have offered Colwill – who spent last season on loan at Brighton – a new contract, but the 20-year-old has been linked with a number of other Premier League clubs, among them Tottenham.

Born in Southampton, Colwill rose through Chelsea’s youth ranks but has never featured for the first team; he made 17 Premier League appearances for Brighton last term, having been loaned out to Championship Huddersfield Town in 2021/22.

That’s according to the Liverpool Echo, who say Liverpool are one of the Blues’ domestic rivals keen on Colwill – who has represented England up to U21 level and is currently part of the Young Lions’ squad at the ongoing European Under-21 Championship.

Our in-house Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) model currently rates Colwill at €14.5m (£12.4m) – and, were he to leave for that kind of fee, he could come to look like an absolute bargain a few years from now.

That seems extremely unlikely to happen, though: earlier this month, Chelsea rejected a £40 bid from Brighton to make the defender’s loan switch permanent.