(Football news) Chelsea have agreed to match Manchester United’s £72m bid for Frenkie De Jong and have been linked to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with Thomas Tuchel keen to reunite with the Gabonese striker. De Jong is reluctant to leave Barcelona as the club owes him £17m in deferred wages but have offered a settlement of £6m if he decides to take a significant pay cut and stays at the club. Unlike Manchester United, Chelsea can offer Champions League football but the Red Devils have Erik ten Hag as the manager, somebody De Jong is familiar with, having played under him at Ajax.

As for Aubameyang, the 33 year old moved to Barcelona from Arsenal in January this year on a free transfer and has three years remaining on his contract. While Chelsea have not been public about their interest in the player, it’s understood that Tuchel considers Aubameyang as a reliable striker who scored 79 goals in two seasons at Borussia Dortmund under the German manager. Chelsea have listed a centre-back and striker as priority targets for this month with a deal for Leicester City’s Wesley Fofana looking on the cards. The Blues have already had two bids rejected but a fee in the region of £80m could be enough to motivate Leicester to sell, especially considering their financial troubles. 

The Blues have also been linked to Inter Milan’s 19-year-old midfielder Cesare Casadei who has not yet played for the first team. The Italian club are demanding £12m for the player and it remains to be seen if a deal will be struck between the two parties. Chelsea signed 18-year-old midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa in a £20m deal last week and also bought 18-year-old goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina from Chicago Fire and 18-year-old winger Omari Hutchinson from Arsenal. 

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