Transfer News: Chelsea eye recently relegated African star as Raphinha alternative

Transfer news: Chelsea are considering a move for Burnley’s Maxwel Cornet

According to TalkSport (h/t football.london), Chelsea have identified Burnley star man Maxwel Cornet as a possible signing this summer. He has been identified as a possible alternative for Leeds United winger Raphinha, should the Blues fail to secure his signature.

Cornet joined Burnley from Olympique Lyon in the summer of 2021 for £15million. The Ivory Coast international went on to make 29 appearances for the Clarets in all competitions last season, scoring 9 goals and assisting 2. He was a star player for Burnley, who were relegated from the Premier League after finishing 18th in the League.

Now the former Lyon man is looking to depart from Turf Moor and Chelsea could become a possible destination. He is not expected to be part of Vincent Kompany’s rebuild of the Clarets in the Championship.

He could be available for a fee of just £17.5million. This could come as a great motivation for Chelsea.

A good alternative?

Thomas Tuchel is overseeing a squad revamp this summer. The German tactician is yet to make a signing but has seen an exodus of his senior players in the likes of Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Romelu Lukaku. They have been linked with some players, but there has been no concrete result.

Raphinha is one such player having been linked with the Blues for quite some time now. However, there is a possibility that he might not move to Stamford Bridge. For such a case, it seems Chelsea have identified a potential alternative in Burnley’s Cornet.

The Ivorian is a versatile player who can play as a left-winger, centre-forward and also a left-back. Such versatility is sure to help out a coach like Tuchel, who likes to rotate his players in different positions. Should the Blues sign him, he can not only help in adding depth to the attack but could also compete with Ben Chilwell for the left-back position.

He could be a very good signing as he offers more versatility than Raphinha. Also, Cornet’s Premier League experience and the fact he would cost less than one-third of what we would have spent on Raphinha only makes going after him sweeter.

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It remains to be seen if the Blues do make a move for Cornet. Chelsea would hope that they don’t face much competition for Cornet- if they really do want the player.

A player of his status belongs in the Premier League but then again, only time will tell if he would want to play for a team which may not be able to guarantee a starting position to him.