Over £300k a week
not been disclosed in the latest set of financial results, Chelsea managed to pull themselves back into the black thanks to the £60million sale of Oscar last January.
Oscar’s departure to Shanghai SIPG contributed to a profit on player trading of £69.2 million, which helped Chelsea report an overall profit of £15.3million for the year ended June 30 2017. Chelsea’s turnover increased 9.8 per cent from £329.1 million to £361.3 million thanks to a greater share of the Premier League broadcast revenue as a result of winning the title.
Chelsea have renewed their interest in Barkley, who turned down a move on the final day of the summer transfer window because he wanted to get himself fit before making a decision over his future. The midfielder, who is yet to play for Everton this season, is nearing a full recovery from his hamstring injury and will be out of contract in the summer.
Tottenham Hotspur have also been tracking Barkley, but are more inclined to wait for him to become a free agent before making a move. There is still time for Spurs to change their approach and seriously rival Chelsea this month, but the Blues have moved into the driving seat over Barkley. It is believed both Everton and Chelsea would rather settle Barkley’s future before the final days of the January transfer window after the saga ran the length of the summer.
Other than Barkley, Chelsea are interested in Monaco’s Thomas Lemar, although the Ligue 1 club have insisted that the France international will stay put until the summer. Conte wants to strengthen the left side of his squad and remains a big fan of Juventus wantaway fullback Alex Sandro, who is also on Manchester United’s radar, while Chelsea continue to be linked with Porto’s Alex Telles.
Chelsea had been interested in Virgil van Dijk and asked whether the Dutchman’s £75 million move to Liverpool makes his own task even harder, Conte said: “It doesn’t change. For us, I repeat, it’s very important to look at ourselves and then try to find the right way to improve.”