Sarri quiet on Zaha; names one position Chelsea must strengthen

Maurizio Sarri has refused to entertain speculation that Chelsea are poised to sign Wilfried Zaha from Crystal Palace – but admits the Blues have work to do before the window closes on Thursday.

The new Chelsea manager has so far managed to sign £52million Jorginho – who arrived a day before his former Napoli manager – and Rob Green, in what has been a summer of frustration so far for the club.

But according to Monday’s newspapers, a deal for Zaha could soon be struck, with Palace looking for anything between £60m – £75m for the tricky winger.

Keeping the likes of Thibaut Courtois – who has asked to return to Madrid for family reasons – Eden Hazard, Willian and N’Golo Kante might prove just as pivotal for the Blues, but Sarri – although refusing to discuss Zaha directly – is intent on adding to his squad before the window shuts.

“I talk with the club about the market but only one or maybe two times, not more. I spoke about positions and characteristics but no names,” Sarri said. “So, I don’t know. I think we need something, but maybe only a player.

“We have very good midfielders, but maybe a midfielder with different characteristics [would be a good fit].”

The news could spell further bad news for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who has admitted his future is up in the air this summer and was on Sunday left out of their matchday squad for the Community Shield defeat to Manchester City. 

Crystal Palace Wilfried Zaha

The midfielder has once again been linked with a loan swoop to Palace and he could yet play a part of any potential deal that takes Zaha to Stamford Bridge.

One man who has been linked with Chelsea is free agent Brazilian winger Bernard – but it seems he will only be a Plan B if efforts to land Zaha fail.

 

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