£40m star wants to join Chelsea after Simons & Hato

We are just over a fortnight away from the Premier League being back on our screens, and it feels like it’s going to be a big campaign for Chelsea.

Enzo Maresca’s side ended last season in spectacular fashion, by securing Champions League football, winning the Conference League and being crowned world champions.

While each triumph was a team effort, it would be impossible to overlook the importance of Cole Palmer in each one, especially as he scored a brace against Paris Saint-Germain in the final of the latter.

The Englishman is sure to remain just as crucial to the Blues in 25/26 as well, so fans should be excited about reports linking them to a young talent who could be a great teammate for him, a young player who, like Jorrel Hato and Xavi Simons, wants to join the club.

Chelsea target young superstars

So far, Chelsea have already strengthened their squad this summer with exciting players like Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens and Joao Pedro, but it looks like they want to add even more talent to their squad, talent that can grow and develop at the club.

One such player is Hato, who, at just 19 years old, has already amassed 111 appearances for Ajax and won six caps for the Netherlands senior side.

The Dutch defender has already made it clear he wants to join the Blues this summer by agreeing to personal terms and could be available for a fee of around £40m.

Likewise, Simons, who amassed a tally of 11 goals and eight assists in 33 games for RB Leipzig last season, has made it clear he’s open to joining the West Londoners, and could make the move for a fee of about £43m.

However, there is a third promising gem who would be keen on joining the Pensioners this summer.

At least that is according to a recent report from journalist Ben Jacobs, who has revealed that Chelsea could sign Alejandro Garnacho as well as the Leipzig star.

Moreover, the Argentine international is “prioritising a move within the Premier League” and understandably would “welcome an approach from Chelsea.”

While Jacobs makes no mention of a potential price, reports from earlier this summer suggest a deal could be struck at around £40m, and while that may seem like a lot, it could prove value for money in time, especially as he could be a perfect teammate for Palmer.

Why Garnacho would be a great teammate for Palmer

So, it would be fair to say that, given how things ended at United last season, this move would likely upset a portion of the Chelsea fan base initially.

However, there are several reasons we believe this could be good business, and Garnacho could be a brilliant teammate for Palmer.

The first is that, despite playing in a historically bad Red Devils side, and being just 20 for the entire campaign, the Madrid-born gem was able to amass a pretty impressive tally of 11 goals and provide ten assists in 58 appearances, totalling 3,568 minutes.

That means the eight-capped international was able to maintain an average of a goal involvement every 2.76 games, or more impressively, every 169.90 minutes in a season his side finished 15th.

So, just imagine what the Blues’ own game-changer could do playing next to someone capable of those numbers in a poor side.

Moreover, even if the United ace didn’t start, he’d be a great option to come off the bench and keep the level of talent on the pitch and around Palmer at a decent level late on in games.

The second reason the “generational” talent, as dubbed by Statman Dave, could be a brilliant teammate for the Englishman is that he’d be able to cover for him when he needs a rest.

While the 21-year-old dynamo’s most played position across his entire career has been left-wing, he spent most of last season interchanging between attacking midfield and off the right.

Finally, just as you’d hope from an exciting prospect, the Red Devils’ gem has a few standout underlying metrics.

According to FBref, he sits in the top 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s top five leagues for total shots and the top 5% for progressive carries and touches in the opposition’s penalty area, all per 90.

In other words, he’s exceptional at getting the ball up the pitch into dangerous areas and firing off shots, which in turn could see him help create chances and space for the former Manchester City gem to exploit.

Ultimately, while it wouldn’t be cheap, Chelsea should do what they can to sign Garnacho this summer, as he could be a brilliant player in his own right, and he could also make an excellent teammate for Palmer.

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