After Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, Marco Verratti is on his way out. Verratti has been linked to Chelsea.
French outlet ‘Foot Mercato’ reported on November 11, “Recently, Verratti was asked by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to leave the club. Saudi Arabia is interested in Verratti, but his priority is Europe. Chelsea are interested in Verratti,” the report said.
PSG is no stranger to player departures. PSG have been at odds with Mbappe for a long time. The conflict began when Mbappe refused to renew his contract. Several teams, including Saudi Arabia and Real Madrid, are interested in Mbappe, but the transfer is not going to be easy. Mbappe will leave the club as a free agent next summer.
Recently, Neymar joined Mbappe in asking for a transfer. Neymar had no problems with the players during the preseason. However, he suddenly announced his departure. Losing both Mbappe and Neymar would make PSG’s offense a lot weaker. Even Verratti could be on his way out. According to Foot Mercato, PSG have asked Verratti to leave the club.
PSG was transformed into a new club under the ownership of Qatari emir Tamim bin Hamad Alsani and chairman Nasser Al Khelaifi. With new capital, PSG assembled some of Europe’s biggest stars, including Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, and Sergio Ramos, and set out to challenge for the top of the table. But it wasn’t as easy as they thought. Not that there weren’t chances. They reached the UCL final in the 2019-20 season, only to be knocked out by Munich.
PSG is in the midst of a major overhaul. They let go of Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos and replaced Galtier with Luis Enrique, who won a treble with Barcelona. Along with Enrique, there are plenty of new faces. Lee Kang-in, Marco Asensio, Milan Skriniar, and Luca Hernandez are just a few of them.
In the past, PSG has tended to rely on world-class players, but now they’ve taken a slightly different approach, opting for the future instead of big names in the summer transfer market. Lee Kang-In, Gonzalo Hamus, and Manuel Ugarte were all born in 2001.
In recent years, the Saudis have brought in a number of world-class players from Europe, starting with Cristiano Ronaldo. Following Ronaldo, Ballon d’Or winner Benzema also headed to Saudi Arabia, as well as other top players such as N’Golo Kante and Nabil Neves. It’s not just about the players, though, as they’ve also hired Steven Gerrard to manage them.
The Saudis also approached Verratti. Al-Hilal offered €30 million for Verratti, but PSG rejected the offer. Al Hilal then demanded a higher transfer fee. It was £45 million, not a small sum considering the 30-year-old’s age, but he wanted to continue his career in Europe. Chelsea have shown interest in Verratti
Chelsea had a tough time last season. The Blues abruptly fired head coach Thomas Tuchel early in the season after winning the UEFA Champions League (UCL). Tuchel’s replacement was Graham Potter, who led Brighton’s breakout season. However, Chelsea’s choice proved to be a failure. Potter’s Chelsea struggled throughout the season. From sixth place at the start of Potter’s tenure, Chelsea fell to 11th place after 29 rounds. Eventually, Potter left the club.
Chelsea called in Frank Lampard as a firefighter. But Lampard couldn’t put out the fire. In nine games, Lampard won one, drew two, and lost six, and Chelsea finished the season in 12th place. It was a very disappointing run of results and behavior. The change of ownership from Roman Abramovich to Todd Boeli brought promise, but the season ended in failure.
Chelsea are preparing for a fresh start with the arrival of Pochettino. The Blues have been active in the transfer market as they look to shake off last season’s disappointment. First, Pochettino got rid of players he didn’t need in order to bring in his own colors. Chelsea sold the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly and Mateo Kovacic. They also brought back loan players like Joao Felix.
The player Chelsea spent the most on this transfer window was Moises Kaysedou. Chelsea have been trying to sign him throughout the transfer window, but have been unable to make any progress. That’s because Brighton set the price tag too high. Brighton are demanding £100 million (approximately $167 million) for the player. Chelsea’s last offer was £80 million. Unsurprisingly, Brighton refused.
Suddenly, Liverpool intervened. The BBC reported on the 11th that “Liverpool have agreed a record transfer fee of £110 million (approximately $187 billion) with Brighton to sign Caido. Brighton 토토사이트 had set a £100 million ($168.4 billion) price tag for the player, making the move look difficult, but Liverpool pulled it off. The player is now free to undergo a medical,” the report said. Chelsea are on the verge of losing Caido to Liverpool.
Chelsea’s next move was for Verratti. Despite his small stature, Verratti plays a key role in the defense. He’s been called the “second Pirlo” because of his playmaking ability. He also has defensive skills, including a lot of movement and sliding tackles. Since joining PSG in 2012, Verratti has been a mainstay in the midfield. He would be a great addition to a midfield that is missing N’Golo Kante, Kovacic, and Jorginho.