Second source confirms Chelsea star could be snatched by Tuchel in January; contact ‘has never been broken’
Armando Broja speaks with Trevoh Chalobah before Chelsea game
Sky Sports Germany expert Florian Plettenberg has confirmed Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah remains a target for Bayern Munich.
TEAMtalk exclusively revealed last week that Chelsea have told Chalobah he can find a new club in January, and that Thomas Tuchel remains eager to reunite with the centre-back at Bayern after previously exploring a deal in the summer.
Now, Plettenberg has verified that Bayern are still thinking about signing Chalobah in the next transfer window. Specifically, the deal could be a loan with an option to buy.
Like we mentioned, Chalobah is mutually interested in the move to Germany. Plettenberg, via his Twitter account, has confirmed that ‘contact with Bayern has never been broken since the summer’.
That said, there have been ‘no formal talks’ between the two clubs about the formula of a deal for the 24-year-old. Nevertheless, Plettenberg deems it ‘very likely’ that Chalobah will play for a club other than Chelsea by February.
Since emerging from their academy and making his name out on loan, Chalobah has earned 63 appearances for Chelsea, who have him under contract until 2028, with the option of an additional year. However, he is yet to feature in a competitive game under new head coach, Mauricio Pochettino.
Chalobah had the chance to leave Chelsea in the summer, when other than Bayern, Nottingham Forest tried to sign him. However, he chose to fight for his place – a challenge he has not yet been able to have a go at due to injury.
If Chelsea sell Chalobah in a permanent deal, it would help with their Financial Fair Play balancing act, since he is an academy graduate and the transfer fee (which we understand could be £25m) would represent pure profit. For the time being, though, a fourth loan spell – after his stints with Ipswich Town, Huddersfield Town and Lorient – looks more likely.
Chalobah might be more prominent with Bayern
In Chelsea’s centre-back department, Pochettino prefers Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile, Levi Colwill, Thiago Silva and – one would imagine – the injured Wesley Fofana.
Bayern, on the other hand, are desperate for defensive additions. They sold Lucas Hernandez to Paris Saint-Germain and Benjamin Pavard to Inter over the summer, but bringing in Kim Min-jae from Napoli was their only major reinforcement at centre-back.
Having played for Lorient in France before, a move abroad might be interesting for Chalobah – especially if it entails reuniting with the coach who trusted him enough to give him his senior Chelsea debut.
Furthermore, Bayern are regular contenders in the Champions League, which is more than Chelsea can say this season. Not only could Chalobah earn more gametime at Bayern, but he could be doing so in a more successful team.
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