Chelsea Transfer News Roundup: Blues want Diogo Costa; Bayern Munich wanted Mykhaylo Mudryk, and more - February 13, 2024
Chelsea secured a stunning 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on Monday (February 12) in the Premier League. Conor Gallagher registered a brace, while Enzo Fernandez scored the third to ease the pressure piling on manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Meanwhile, the Blues are interested in Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa. Elsewhere, Bayern Munich were eyeing Blues attacker Mykhaylo Mudryk in January.
On that note, here's a look at the key Chelsea transfer stories as on February 13, 2024:
Chelsea want Diogo Costa
Chelsea are interested in Diogo Costa, according to Fichajes. The Blues parted ways with Edouard Mendy in the summer, while Kepa Arrizabalaga was allowed to leave on loan to Real Madrid.
The Spaniard is likely to be permanently offload at the end of this season. Pochettino brought in Robert Sanchez from Brighton & Hove Albion for the No. 1 role, but he hasn’t been entirely convincing.
The Argentinean manager wants to add more competition to the position and has his eyes on Costa, who has been outstanding for Porto recently, turning heads across Europe.
This season, Costa has appeared 28 times across competitions, registering 10 clean sheets. The 24-year-old could be an upgrade on Sanchez, and the London giants are apparently ready to pay €80 million to secure his services.
Bayern Munich wanted Mykhaylo Mudryk, says Fabrizio Romano
Bayern Munich wanted to sign Mykhaylo Mudryk in January, according to acclaimed transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.
The Ukrainian forward arrived at Stamford Bridge from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 but has failed to live up to expectations. Chelsea saw off stiff competition from Arsenal to get their man, but their efforts haven’t been vindicated so far.
Mudryk has appeared 25 times across competitions this season, registering four goals and three assists. The 23-year-old is not a first-team regular under Pochettino, and the Bavarians enquired about his availability in the winter.
However, on the Here We Go podcast, Romano stated said the Blues refused to consider any approach for the Ukrainian.
“Before bringing in Bryan Zaragoza, Bayern, they asked about the possibility of signing Mykhaylo Mudryk from Chelsea. He is a player appreciated by Bayern, and they feel, in this moment, he is not playing on a regular basis, and, so, they tried.
"But from Chelsea, there was not even a discussion, and, in hours, Bayern knew it was not possible to discuss for Mudryk,” said Romano.
The London giants could opt to send Mudryk out on loan this summer to help him gain valuable experience.
Blues could spend over £300 million in the summer, says journalist
The Blues can afford to invest another £300-350 million in the squad this summer, according to transfer insider Ben Jacobs.
The Premier League club have spent heavily in the market since the arrival of co-owner Todd Boehly but were surprisingly quiet in January. Recent reports have suggested that the club will have to offload players before they can reinvest in the market.
However, in his column for SPTC, Jacobs has refuted those claims.
“By my maths, based on declared historical figures and some surface analysis, Chelsea could comfortably afford a £200m spend this summer.
"In addition, my superficial-spend projection doesn’t factor in likely outgoings. So even if Chelsea chose to spend £300-£350m this summer they can likely offset this in sales,” said Jacobs.
The London giants are likely to spend big money on a new No. 9 this year, with Napoli’s Victor Osimhen apparently a priority target.