We are only in June, but Chelsea are wasting no time at all when it comes to the transfer window.
For example, even though the likes of Liam Delap, Mamadou Sarr and Dario Essugo are already through the doors at Stamford Bridge, the Conference League Champions are still looking to make more significant additions.
That said, with the Champions League and more expectations in the Premier League to come next season, it’s not hard to understand why the West Londoners want to make sure Enzo Maresca has everything he needs.
One of the names most heavily touted for a move to Chelsea is Jamie Gittens, but interestingly, another international has now been linked with the club, someone who’d arguably be an even better signing.
Chelsea target Premier League star
Since wrapping up their prior transfer dealings, the most significant saga Chelsea have been in has been about Gittens.
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Interestingly, the club were first linked with him back in October and then again during the winter window, but it would be fair to say that the links have seriously heated up in the last few weeks.
In fact, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano revealed yesterday afternoon that the deal was close to being completed, while stories from late last week claimed that a fee of around £55m would be enough for Borussia Dortmund to sell.
However, while the young Englishman is undoubtedly very talented and will be an incredibly exciting addition to the squad, it now looks like the club are moving after someone from the Premier League who’d be an even better signing.
At least that is according to a recent report from Caught Offside, which has revealed that Chelsea are very interested in Nottingham Forest’s Murillo.
The report goes a step further, revealing that the Blues have already made contact with the Tricky Trees to find out more information about the player.
Unfortunately, one potential sticking point for a deal for the Brazilian is that Forest reportedly value him at more than €80m, which comes out to around £68m.
While that is an enormous amount of money, this might be a deal worth fighting for as Murillo has proven himself in the Premier League and could end up being a better signing than Gittens for Chelsea.
Why Murillo would be a better signing than Gittens for Chelsea
Now, the first thing to say is that both players would be good additions to Chelsea’s squad.
After all, it’s never a bad thing to sign an exciting and dynamic young winger, who’d not only scored at the Bernabeu but also managed to rack up a tally of 17 goal involvements in 49 games for a top European side at just 20 years old.
However, in the context of what the Blues actually need this summer, there are two significant reasons why Murillo would be a better signing than Gittens, the first of which relates to the club’s abundance of wingers in the squad.
As things stand, Maresca will be able to choose from ten players who are capable of playing on the wing next season – not including Mykhaylo Mudryk – so signing the Dortmund star will make it 11, which for any team is unnecessary.
That also leads us to the second reason: due to the number of attacking options at the Bridge, the Forest ace is likely to have a greater impact if he were to join.
After all, only one centre-back made 40 appearances across all competitions this season, Levi Colwill, while Tosin Adarabioyo made 38.
Moreover, when we compare the relevant underlying metrics between the former Fulham ace and the Tricky Trees star, like tackles, block interceptions and more, it becomes obvious that the “monstrous” Brazilian, as dubbed by journalist Ryan Taylor, would be a noticeable upgrade.
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
0.07
0.07
Progressive Passes
3.25
2.68
Progressive Carries
0.62
0.32
Passing Accuracy
78.5%
91.1%
Key Passes
0.37
0.06
Passes into the Penalty Area
0.37
0.06
Shot-Creating Actions
1.24
0.96
Tackles
1.50
1.08
Blocks
1.95
0.57
Interceptions
1.02
0.70
Clearances
7.03
5.10
Ball Recoveries
4.01
2.61
Ultimately, Chelsea would be smart to sign both Gittens and Murillo this summer, but when it comes to who will likely have more of an impact next year and, therefore, be the better signing, we’d have to lean heavily towards the latter.
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