Chelsea are now believed to have taken a serious interest in one marquee Newcastle star amid a real worry for incoming new manager Liam Rosenior.
After Enzo Maresca’s shock exit on New Year’s Day, credible reports suggest that the west Londoners are about to turn to their sister club for the Italian’s immediate replacement.
Talks are underway with the former Hull City boss and believed to be progressing, with Rosenior the overwhelming favourite to take over from Maresca just two days after the 45-year-old parted company.
However, according to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are currently waiting on the Ligue 1 side to find a replacement before they green-light their manager’s departure.
“Why is it [Rosenior to Chelsea] not done, sealed, signed, official yet? he told his YouTube channel.
“Because Chelsea and Strasbourg have the same ownership group, so BlueCo need to find a replacement for Liam Rosenior, and they want to make sure that he’s a very good coach as well.
“They don’t want to go for a normal coach. They want to go for an elite young coach in order to continue the project at Strasbourg and then bring Liam Rosenior to Chelsea.”
Rosenior is very highly-rated for his work developing young players, and he’s already transformed the likes of Diego Moreira at Strasbourg after he was previously let go by Chelsea.
Despite links with the likes of José Mourinho, it is clear that BlueCo see Rosenior as the man to take them forward after Chelsea’s sour relationship with Maresca came to a very abrupt end.
Amid their chase for the tactician, Stamford Bridge chiefs are also making transfer plans, and their ‘major concern’ about injury-ridden midfielder Roméo Lavia has prompted them to look at proven alternatives.
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It would be a statement move.
That is according to journalist Wayne Veysey, who told Football Insider that Chelsea are now eyeing a move for Newcastle star Sandro Tonali.
Chelsea set sights on Sandro Tonali amid ‘major’ Rosenior concern
In what is likely to be a big worry for Rosenior once he does come in, Chelsea have few midfield options bar Enzo Fernández and Moises Caicedo, who’ve been run into the ground this season.
The club also want an upgrade on Andrey Santos, prompting them to look at the Italian as an option for the summer, rather than January.
In any case, Veysey writes that Chelsea have set their sights on Tonali after taking a ‘firm interest’ in the 25-year-old.
Tonali is a key figure in Eddie Howe’s midfield, starting 16 of their 19 Premier League games so far, and the Magpies are set to demand a marquee fee to let him leave.
Lee Ryder reported late last year that Newcastle want similar figures to Alexander Isak, with fees north of £130 million expected to be the benchmark for any negotiations about Tonali.
The big question is whether Chelsea would be willing to pay anywhere near that sum considering they’ve already splashed north of £100m on both Caicedo and Fernandez since BlueCo’s ownership began.
Tonali isn’t the traditional signing in terms of age that Chelsea usually go for, despite still being pretty young, so it would be a pretty out of the ordinary move by Behdad Eghbali and co.
Another worry for Chelsea is Howe’s recent admission that Tonali hasn’t quite hit the same heights as his comeback campaign last season.
“The standards he set last season in particular, he was absolutely magnificent,” Howe told reporters.
“Him returning to the team (after suspension) gave us an energy boost, almost like a new signing.
“This season, for whatever reason, he’s not quite hit those levels, but we are working with him to get back there.
“We have seen games where he has performed really well, and in-game there’s been moments where he has absolutely been at his best but it’s that consistency levels that we will focus on.”
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He has not played for the Blues since 2024.