Chelsea in “advanced talks” for £61m superstar

We’re now under two weeks away from the start of the Premier League season, and spirits are high around Chelsea.

Enzo Maresca’s side are still basking in their Club World Cup glory and are set to finally get their late pre-season started with a game against German outfit Bayer Leverkusen on Friday night.

Off the pitch, BlueCo have been busy in the transfer market as well, bringing in some serious talents like Jorrel Hato, Jamie Gittens and Joao Pedro, just to name a few.

Yet, they aren’t done there, as they continue to be linked with exciting attackers like Morgan Rogers, although, if reports are to be believed, the West Londoners are now closing in on an even better signing than the Englishman.

Chelsea target Rogers upgrade

It would be fair to say that, so far this summer, it feels like Chelsea have been linked with every player under the sun at some point or another.

Yet, one of the names that does seem to pop fairly regularly is none other than Aston Villa’s Rogers, who enjoyed a stellar campaign with the Claret and Blue last year, in which he racked up a tally of 29 goal involvements.

According to stories from the last few weeks, the Blues could potentially bring him to Stamford Bridge for a fee of around £100m, although, while he’d be a truly exciting addition, the club now look like they’re looking towards another attacking international, someone who’d be an even better signing.

At least that is according to a recent report from Sebastien Vidal, who claims that Chelsea are still incredibly interested in the RB Leipzig star.

In fact, in exciting news, the journalist has revealed that a deal for the Dutch is “close to being completed” and that the two sides are in “advanced talks” for the player.

Vidal makes no mention of the price, but reports from earlier this summer make it clear that a fee of around £61m would be enough to secure the 22-year-old’s services, and while he might be less familiar to Premier League fans, we reckon he’d be a better signing than Rogers.

Why Simons would be a better signing than Rogers

So it’s important to first clarify that Chelsea would do well to sign either Rogers or Simons, as both players are sensationally gifted and look set for bright futures.

However, with that said, there are a few key reasons why we reckon the latter would be a better signing for the Blues than the former.

The first comes down to the sums of money involved in the potential deals, as even if BlueCo have to pay the full amount Leipzig want for their star, that could still end up being £39m less than the fee being banded about for the Villa ace, which is a sum of money that could go a long way in strengthening the rest of the squad.

Moreover, this vast disparity in how much the pair could cost is reflected in their output.

For example, in just 33 appearances last season, totalling 2763 minutes, the Amsterdam-born “game-changer,” as talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbed him, scored 11 goals and provided eight assists.

In other words, the former PSV Eindhoven superstar managed to maintain an average of a goal involvement every 1.73 games, or every 145.42 minutes, last year, in a team that finished seventh.

In contrast, the highly-rated Englishman scored 14 goals and provided 15 assists in 54 appearances, totalling 4496 minutes, which comes out to a still good, but less impressive average of a goal involvement every 1.86 games, or every 155.03 minutes.

Add to these stats the fact that the former Paris Saint-Germain gem created just four fewer big chances than the Villa star in 12 fewer league games last season and registered more key passes per 90, and it becomes clear that he currently looks like the more promising player.

Finally, with 28 senior caps to his name for the Netherlands compared to just six for England under Rogers’ belt, it’s also clear that the La Masia graduate is already used to taking on more responsibility, which is going to be important in a Blues team that want to win it all over the coming years.

Ultimately, both Rogers and Simons are extraordinarily talented players, but if Chelsea can only get one this summer, then it certainly seems like the latter would be the better signing.