Chelsea “keep working” to sign £61m “game-changer”

While they’ve faced their fair share of criticism for the amount of money spent, Chelsea have built an impressive squad full to the brim with talented players over the last few years.

From defence to attack, numerous game-changing stars will likely give Enzo Maresca some serious selection-based headaches next season.

Yet, it’s still clear that, as things stand, Cole Palmer is far and away the Blues’ most important player.

The Englishman has already amassed a tally of 72 goal involvements in 97 games for the club, and therefore, fans should be excited about reports linking Chelsea to someone who could be the next Palmer.

Chelsea target the next Palmer

It’s been a hectic summer for Chelsea so far this year, as on top of competing in and winning the Club World Cup, they’ve been incredibly active in the transfer market.

Of all the signings the Blues have made thus far, it’d probably be fair to say that Joao Pedro and Jorrel Hato are the most exciting, with the former already scoring three goals and the latter being one of the most highly-rated defenders in world football at the moment.

Yet, even with their squad already significantly bolstered, the West Londoners now appear close to signing another up-and-coming talent, someone who could be Maresca’s new Palmer.

At least that is according to a recent report from transfers expert Fabrizio Romano, who has reaffirmed Chelsea’s intense interest in Xavi Simons.

More than that, the Italian journalist has revealed that despite the Pensioners’ interest in Alejandro Garnacho, they “keep working” on the deal to sign the RB Leipzig star.

While Romano makes no mention of how much the Dutchman might cost, reports from earlier this month claim that a fee of around £61m should be enough to tempt the German outfit into selling.

It’s certainly a lot of money to spend on one player, but Simons has proven his ability in recent seasons and would be more than worth it, especially as he could be Chelsea’s new Palmer.

Why Simons could be the new Palmer

So, the first thing we have to say is that we aren’t claiming that Simons is as good a player as Palmer, as over the last two years, the Englishman has been nothing short of world-class and undoubtedly one of the best players in the entire Premier League.

However, the Dutchman is still a sensational footballer, one with masses and masses of potential that shares some key similarities with the former Manchester City ace.

The first of those is that, at just 22 years old, he’s almost the same age and has already established himself as a key player at club and international level.

For example, he’s already won 28 senior caps for the Netherlands, six of which came at last year’s European Championships, and in those 28 games he’s scored five goals and provided four assists.

At club level, the Amsterdam-born star has made 135 appearances across stints with Paris Saint-Germain, PSV Eindhoven and, most recently, Leipzig.

In those 135 appearances, the dynamic “game-changer,” as talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbed him, has scored 43 goals and provided 34 assists, which comes out to a brilliant average of a goal involvement every 1.75 games.

Aside from his output, the flying Dutchman is also positionally versatile, and, like Palmer, is more than happy playing as a traditional number ten, or out wide on the wings, where he can use his close control to glide past opposition defenders.

Ultimately, fans shouldn’t expect Simons to come in and be at the same level as Palmer right away, but there are some key similarities between the pair, and over time, we see no reason why he couldn’t become just as effective for Maresca.