West Ham HIJACK Chelsea transfer despite 'agreement'

Tom Weber

• Updated: 17 Dec 2024 09:26 GMT
• 3 min read

West Ham are trying to hijack AC Milan's signing of Carney Chukwuemeka, according to a report.

The Chelsea midfielder is out of favour and on his way out. Chukwuemeka was part of the Blues' 'Bomb Squad' in the summer but failed to seal a transfer, leaving him stranded at Stamford Bridge.

After joining Chelsea from Aston Villa in 2022, the Austria-born England youth international had to deal with frequent injury problems but even his return to full fitness has not improved his fortunes.

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Enzo Maresca has barely utilised the 21-year-old. Chukwuemeka was only recently handed his first start of the season as he played 67 minutes against Astana but he has not featured in a single minute of Premier League football.

Unsurprisingly, a January exit is on the agenda.

West Ham barge into Chukwuemeka race

Indeed, in Italy, it has been claimed that Chukwuemeka's departure from Chelsea is only a matter of time, with the player having supposedly already agreed to join AC Milan in January.

However, CaughtOffside now casts doubt on this assertion. A transfer does not appear to be advanced yet and Milan are merely mentioned as one of his suitors, along with other clubs.

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The report also states that Premier League side West Ham are showing a genuine interest in the youngster. It is claimed that Chelsea have set an asking price of €25 million after previously insisting that clubs must trigger his €48m release clause.

In the summer, Chelsea refused to entertain loan offers for the midfielder and pointed to his exit clause as the only way to get him out of west London, but unsurprisingly, clubs were unwilling to spend that much.

It remains to be if Chelsea stick to their stance of a permanent deal only or if they are, at last, willing to sanction a loan exit to boost Chukwuemeka's playing time and, by extension, his value.