Chelsea prepare offer for “world-class” £52m ace

It’s hard to think of anything that has gone wrong for Chelsea this summer.

Enzo Maresca’s side were near enough perfect at the Club World Cup, and so far, the board have been very busy in the transfer window.

The Blues have shifted a number of unwanted players, like Noni Madueke and Kepa Arrizabalaga, while also bringing in several seriously exciting ones, like Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens.

On top of that, the West Londoners seem close to finally getting their hands on Xavi Simons, and if reports are to be believed, they’re also targeting another attacker who’d be a dream teammate for the Dutchman.

Chelsea target dream signing for Simons

While it feels like the Simons saga has been dragging on for months now, the first concrete links between Chelsea and the player only really began to pop up around the middle of June, when he was also being touted for a move to cross-London rivals Arsenal.

Quite a bit has happened since then, and the Blues appear to have progressed quite significantly with their interest in the Dutchman, so much so that reports from earlier this week claimed that talks with RB Leipzig have reached an “advanced” stage, and that a fee of around £61m will be enough to get the deal over the line.

Interestingly, the Conference League champions still seem keen on doing more business and are looking at someone who’d be a dream signing for Simons.

At least that’s according to a recent report from Caught Offside, which claims Chelsea are very interested in Fermin Lopez.

In fact, the report goes further than that, revealing that the Blues are now ‘preparing a bid in the region of €60m’ for the Barcelona midfielder, which would work out to around £52m.

The report makes clear that while the player is not desperate to leave the Catalan club, their poor financial situation means that an exit for him is on the cards, and that is good news for the West Londoners as he’s incredibly talented and would be a dream teammate for Simons.

Why Lopez would be a dream signing for Simons

There are three reasons why Lopez could end up being a dream signing for Simons, and the first is, rather unsurprisingly, down to his output.

For example, in 46 appearances last season, totalling just 2039 minutes, the potentially “world-class” gem, as one analyst dubbed him, was able to score eight goals and provide ten assists.

That means the young Spaniard maintained an impressive average of a goal involvement every 2.55 games, or more crucially, every 113.27 minutes.

In other words, it seems like the twice-capped international would be a brilliant source of chances for the Dutchman, as well as someone who could finish the chances created for him.

Second, as the El Campillo-born gem is capable of playing in midfield and outwide, he’d have both more opportunities to play alongside and then form an understanding with the Leipzig star, while also being able to come in and cover for him when he needs to be rested.

Finally, one of the reasons the former Paris Saint-Germain prospect wants to come to Stamford Bridge this summer is the opportunity to win things in the future, and that is something the Barça ace already has experience with.

Despite still being just 22 years old, the versatile midfielder already has quite the trophy cabinet, which includes a La Liga title, a Copa del Rey, an Olympic Gold Medal and a European Championship medal to boot.

Therefore, it’s unlikely he’d be fazed when playing in the biggest games for the Blues, which in turn should make him a more reliable teammate in those tense moments.

Ultimately, Lopez won’t come cheap, but he’s already proven his talent, and at 22, he could develop into something truly special and the perfect teammate for Simons to boot.