Chelsea, Arsenal ruled out of Karim Benzema race; Pochettino lines up swap deal for Aston Villa man as an alternative
Chelsea and Arsenal linked Al-Ittihad striker Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema is desperate to return to European football but TEAMtalk can reveal that his wages are making a move increasingly unlikely this month.
As previously reported, both Arsenal and Chelsea had discussed the possibility of signing the Al-Ittihad striker and the Blues looked at possible ways to construct a deal.
Chelsea, however, have been forced to remain patient and not risk any moves that put them in a tight position with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
They have no way of bypassing his £2m per week wages and TEAMtalk can confirm they will not be able to bring Benzema to Stamford Bridge this season.
The 36-year-old is now hoping that Lyon can pull off some financial mastery to try and bring him back to the club where he initially broke onto the scene.
Mauricio Pochettino has switched his focus to signing younger talents who can fit within Chelsea’s wage structure and Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran is top of his list.
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Chelsea switch focus to Villa star after Benzema miss
Lyon are moving heaven and earth to try and sign Benzema this month but it’s very difficult to accomplish.
The French giants have had a very poor season and currently sit in the relegation zone after picking up just 16 points from 19 games so far.
The Lyon fans are now directing their anger at those running the club. The board believe that if they can re-sign Benzema, it would win back the trust of the supporters.
With that in mind, Lyon is Benzema’s last hope when it comes to leaving Saudi Arabia this month.
TEAMtalk have been told that Arsenal are not going to move for Benzema and left the race early after having a conversation with his agents.
They are also holding off on any big spends until the summer when they will move for a world-class number nine.
As for Chelsea, sources have revealed that they have held early conversations with Aston Villa over Duran and believe the 20-year-old possesses the ability to become a world-class striker.
We understand that the talks could see Armando Broja move in the other direction, with Unai Emery happy to take Albanian forward as a replacement for Duran.
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