On-loan Chelsea star, Saul Niguez, in action.
According to the Mirror, Chelsea could be looking to do a drastic U-turn to keep Spanish midfielder Saul Niguez at the club past his loan deal. The London club will first have to verify if the current sanctions allow them to do so.
The 27-year-old midfielder made the move to Stamford Bridge last summer on a loan deal which also provided them with a first buy option for a pre-arranged fee of £29.3million. Whilst the Spaniard struggled to adapt to conditions in his early days, he is slowly starting to get into his stride.
The Blues were hit with sanctions after the British Government decided to crack down on a list of seven Russian oligarchs believed to have pro-Kremlin ties which included Roman Abramovich. This has put the West Londoners in jeopardy as they could be scrambling across to make ends meet as of now.
The Stamford Bridge outfit was given some respite when the Daily Telegraph claimed that Abramovich and the UK government have found an agreement to go ahead with the sale of the club. Despite this development, there is still a dearth of restrictions in place before a new suitable owner takes over.
Under the current sanctions, it was also understood that the club cannot make any new transfers or offer contract renewals to players right now. This could be a substantial loss for the club as key defenders Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger, and Andreas Christensen all have deals that currently expire at the end of the season. This could also mean that an attempt to make Niguez’s move permanent could be tougher than originally thought.
The club has become a force to be reckoned with across Europe as well as England ever since Roman Abramovich took over in 2003. He has pumped huge amounts of cash into the West Londoners helping us assemble a top-notch squad that has competed amongst the elite consistently.
It is now time to look forward to the post-Abramovich era for us. Whilst the sanctions have been imposed, there is still a lot of unease surrounding the club. The Chelsea outfit is now thought to be interested in bringing Saul Niguez to Stamford Bridge permanently.
The Blues have a plethora of dependable options in the middle of the pitch, with the likes of N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic among others at their disposal. Whilst this trio has formed the main crux of the midfield whenever fit, with the French and the Italian midfielder now in their 30s, the club would do well to future-proof the midfield.
In a recent interview (h/t The Mirror), Thomas Tuchel admitted that the 27-year-old Spaniard has been adapting well to the club and its demands.
“I think he will be an important player for us and I hope so as well. He has showed what he can do with his abilities. I see more confidence in him with each game, he is in good shape and his adaptation to the way we play has gone further from before.
With the business end of the season at hand, Niguez could have several opportunities to further impress the former Borussia Dortmund manager. He really found life hard in West London at the start of this season and was even played as a left wing-back when Ben Chilwell was out.
But it now seems that the Blues are exploring all options to keep their side competitive for next season in case they cannot sign new players or lose some important first-team members.
That being said, it was initially known that the Stamford Bridge outfit would have until 30th May to relay their decision to Atletico Madrid. If Chelsea is therefore serious about striking any deal, they would be hoping that said restrictions are dropped sooner rather than later.
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