- 14 hours ago
Chelsea in €100m January DOUBLE deal
Robin Bairner
- 28 Oct 2024 09:05 CDT
- 7 min read
Chelsea’s ambition transfer spending shows no sign of relenting, with Enzo Maresca’s side set to remedy one of their major issues with a deal worth €100 million in the January transfer window.
The Stamford Bridge outfit are set to address on of their major weaknesses by move for Benfica youngster Antonio Silva and Tomas Araujo in a spectacular nine-figure deal.
Chelsea have lacked stability at centre-back this season, which has partially manifested itself in a poor disciplinary record, and it appears that Enzo Maresca’s side are ready to invest heavily to solve this issue.
Current ETV
António Silva
D (C)
Benfica
António Silva
D (C)
Benfica
ETV Range
€22.3M - €37.2M
Having been knocked back in a bid to sign Silva before, the Blues are revisiting the deal but are seeking an alternative way to get Benfica to accept their offer.
The 20-year-old centre-back was the player the Lisbon club were banking on making big money from in the summer, but instead they were forced to sell Joao Neves to PSG.
Chelsea had already approached them about a deal for Silva, who will celebrate his 21st birthday on 31 October, but their €60 million offer was deemed insufficient.
Benfica, instead, pointed to the player’s €100m release clause as the only value they would accept.
Now Chelsea are ready to return with that figure, according to TodoFichajes, but they also want Araujo included in the package for that price.
It is stated that both players welcome the interest due to the rise in Chelsea’s fortunes under Maresca, while the Italian coach believes that these two deals could set his side up in the middle of their defence for years to come.
Silva with incredible potential
Silva, in particular, could be a standout for Chelsea, according to data analytics experts SciSports.
In a crowded space for defensive recognition at Chelsea, he would arrive well down the pecking order. Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana and Axel Disasi are all rated more highly than him, yet the Portuguese has the capacity to become a ‘key player’ for the Blues, SciSports report.
Araujo, however, is more of a gamble. According to SciSports’ calculations, he will only reach the status of backup player at Stamford Bridge, which begs the question as to why Chelsea are chasing him.
Antonio Silva vs Liga Portugal centre-backs: 2024/25
It appears, however, that the Blues will have to pay well over the odds for the pair.
While Silva has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €29.8 million, Araujo’s is only €6.7m, coming to a total of €36.5m.
Asking for €100m is, therefore, ambitious on Benfica’s part, while for Chelsea, they will hope Silva can justify this investment by reaching his potential, while Araujo could be seen as a player they have an opportunity to hone into a sellable asset.
If the Blues are to do a deal, though, they will surely have to move at least a couple of their players on first.
