At one point, Chelsea looked like the front runners to sign Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhaes, commonly known as Gabriel. But according to The Guardian, that has all changed. The 22-year-old Lille centre back now looks set for a move to a different blue coloured English club with Everton showing interest.
REPORT: Chelsea Falling Behind In Gabriel Magalhaes Pursuit
Everton In Poll Position
New Toffees manager Carlo Ancelotti rates Gabriel and wants to make him his first signing on Merseyside. Ancelotti infamously shook his head in disgust watching Everton for the first time as their manager, albeit only observing from the stands.
But very quickly, he got them to winning ways and brought them from relegation-threatened to mid-table comfortability in a handful of games.
And to continue his renaissance, he’s “[looking] to strengthen in central defence for next season” with Gabriel as his main target. And regarding the Brazilian, Ancelotti and Everton are “confident of adding the Lille defender…when the transfer window opens.”
Chelsea Left In The Dust
If Everton have leapfrogged Chelsea in pursuit of Gabriel, that is a massive blow to the Blues. Manager Frank Lampard and the board have a few key areas of need, one of those being central defence.
Centre back Antonio Rudiger and the club have begun contract extension talks but has missed a majority of the season through injury. Fikayo Tomori started the season playing regularly only to lose his spot in XI after some inconsistent performance. Kurt Zouma suffered the same fate as Tomori. And while Andreas Christensen has filled in adequately, he hasn’t done so superbly.
That leaves a massive question mark for Lampard, especially after the number of defensive errors at the back during the season causing the Blues to drop points.
Can he depend on the defenders he has at his disposal now? Are they good enough for a ‘big 6’ team with ambitions of winning the Premier League and competing for a Champions League triumph?
Chelsea originally lead the race to sign Gabriel. But with stiff competition coming from Everton, and with Arsenal also in the race, that has changed. The Guardian expects the Brazilian to go for around £30 million. Transfermarkt lists him closer to $20 million (£16 million). Either way, neither are massive sums.
Chelsea will have to step up their pursuit to not miss out on a young, talented centre back to help an area of need at a very reasonable price. This is not a signing Chelsea should feel okay missing out on.
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