It came to light yesterday that Chelsea may well be trying to sign the brilliant young forward Moussa Dembele from Celtic before the window closes tonight.
Quite why they have waited until this late in the window is anybody’s guess. You have to assume that a club of this size would have made this a specific strategy and perhaps felt that the price would have escalated further had they started making bids earlier in the month. It would also potentially have alerted other clubs to the availability of the player at the right price.
By making a late move like they could be avoiding an auction scenario and may improve their chances of snaring the frightening forward this month.
The Guardian reported on Monday night that Chelsea are considering making a £30 million bid but other media sources have suggested that the Blues may have to go closer to £40m if they really want the player this month.
You would have thought that the Scottish club would be much happier to hold on to the player with their own title push in mind. But money talks louder than ever in football and if the player wants to make a move then there is ultimately little that Celtic can do to stand in his way. Of course they could slow down the deal and keep the player until the summer. That may well do that.
But the allure of Chelsea and the Premier League must now be on the player’s mind. With Diego Costa potentially leaving the club in the summer Dembele could represent the bright new future of Chelsea football club and give them a pacy and fluid front line with a false number nine.
Chelsea fans: how confident are you of getting this deal over the line today?