Chelsea Transfer News Roundup: Blues remain hot on heels of West Ham United midfielder; club had no plan to let Conor Gallagher leave this summer, and more - October 5, 2022
Chelsea will welcome AC Milan to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday (September 5) on matchday three in the UEFA Champions League. New manager Graham Potter will be eager to pick up his first win in the tournament since taking charge.
Meanwhile, the Blues are hot on the heels of a West Ham United midfielder. Elsewhere, acclaimed transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has said that the London giants always intended on keeping Conor Gallagher at the club this summer.
European action comes next! 👊 https://t.co/RHteje9BT5
On that note, here's a look at the key Chelsea transfer stories as on October 5, 2022:
Chelsea remain hot on heels of Declan Rice
Chelsea continue to have their eyes on Declan Rice, according to 90 Min. The Englishman is easily one of the finest defensive midfielders in the country and is wanted by a host of clubs around Europe. The Blues are also on the list of his admirers.
West Ham United captain Declan Rice remains top of Chelsea’s wanted list in 2023.
- @GraemeBailey https://t.co/w3VlMwmOOc
Potter is expected to continue the club's search for a long-term replacement for N'Golo Kante. The Frenchman is in the final year of his contract but is yet to commit himself to the London giants. The club are eager to bring in a replacement and have identified Rice as their numero uno target for the role.
Blues had no plan to let Conor Gallagher leave this summer, says Fabrizio Romano
Fabrizio Romano has said that Chelsea had no plans to allow Conor Gallagher to leave Stamford Bridge this summer. The Englishman was heavily linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge after an impressive loan spell with Crystal Palace. However, he ended up staying at the club.
In his column for Caught Offside, Romano noted that there was a lot of interest in Gallagher this summer, but the Blues wanted him to stay.
"What a goal from Conor Gallagher against his old club Crystal Palace this weekend! So, what’s the truth about his situation over the summer, when he was linked with several potential moves away from Chelsea? In all honesty, it was never close because Chelsea, and also Thomas Tuchel, decided to keep Gallagher at the club this summer,” wrote Romano.
He added:
"They had many approaches from Palace, Newcastle but never anything close or advanced as Gallagher was also happy to stay and fight for his place at Chelsea. It looks like it was the right move – Gallagher showed his tremendous potential on loan at Palace last season and now he’s starting to deliver for Chelsea as well.”
Gallagher has appeared seven times this season, finding the back of the net once.
Kalidou Koulibaly opens up on his start to life at Stamford Bridge
Kalidou Koulibaly says that he always knew he would need time to settle in the Premier League. The Senegalese joined Chelsea from Napoli this summer and has enjoyed a mixed start to life.
Speaking to the press, Koulibaly added that he's embracing the challenge.
"I was expecting it like this, I knew that it would be difficult, even some of the best coaches in the world said so, because everybody knows that to go from Italy to England is difficult. But I knew that so I was ready to take on this challenge," said Koulibaly.
He continued:
"It is true that the pace is a little bit different to Italian football, but I’m really happy to be, I’m really happy to be part of the Premier League, because it was one of my dreams to play here in English football and today I’m here so I’m really happy."
The Senegalese went on to express confidence in his abilities and talked about being patient.
"I know that these are normal processes, I know that it will come, I know that when the moment comes I will be at 100 per cent, and I will give everything for my club; this is the most important thing. For the rest I’m easy, I know that the coach has confidence in me. We have a lot of games, so I just need to be patient, and he will give me my opportunity to play," said Koulibaly.
He added:
“I’m not worried about anything, I just want Chelsea to win games, like we did at the weekend. We want to win tomorrow, and we showed a lot of good things at the weekend, and I’m really happy for the team, really happy for everybody, because we have a good team spirit."
Koulibaly has appeared six times for the Blues this season and has scored one goal.