Transfer roundup: Chelsea close to deal for Rennes goalkeeper Edouard Mendy
Chelsea are close to signing a new goalkeeper to compete with Kepa Arrizabalaga after holding talks with Rennes over an £18.2m deal for Edouard Mendy.
Frank Lampard is determined to strengthen in goal after losing faith in Arrizabalaga, who has failed to convince since moving to Stamford Bridge for a world-record fee of £71.6m two years ago. However Chelsea have struggled to find a club capable of buying the Spaniard and although they have looked at signing Atlético Madrid’s Jan Oblak, they have lowered their sights to more affordable options.
Chelsea, who have already spent over £200m on six new players this summer, have tracked Mendy for a while and had an offer of £14.2m for the 28-year-old rejected last month. However they have continued to negotiate with Rennes, who qualified for the Champions League after finishing third in Ligue 1 last season, and are close to reaching an agreement with the Ligue 1 club over a deal for the Senegal international. Nothing has been finalised yet but it is understood that Chelsea could end up paying €28m for Mendy once add-ons are included.
Lampard has already signed Ben Chilwell, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz,
Malang Sarr, Hakim Ziyech and Thiago Silva this summer. He has been backed by Roman Abramovich, Chelsea’s owner, and still wants to bring in defensive reinforcements. West Ham’s Declan Rice is high on Lampard’s list.
Sheffield United have signed Ethan Ampadu on a season-long loan from Chelsea. The Wales defender spent last season at RB Leipzig and is keen to show he is ready to play regularly in the Premier League.
The Blades have also made a double signing from Derby County with the capture of wing-backs Max Lowe and Jayden Bogle for a reported total
of £15m. “Jayden and Max will put huge pressure on George [Baldock] and Enda [Stevens]”, said the Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder. “Both are modern-day wing-backs and I’m looking forward to working with them.”
West Ham remain hopeful of signing James Tarkowski from Burnley and are considering making an improved offer for the defender as they look to quell supporter unrest following Grady Diangana’s move to West Brom.
West Ham’s owners, David Sullivan and David Gold, are under growing pressure after the club’s captain, Mark Noble, said that he was “gutted, angry and sad” to see Diangana join West Brom for £18m last Friday.
The London Stadium club have justified the 22-year-old’s departure by saying that they need to raise funds to allow David Moyes to strengthen his defence. Moyes is a keen admirer of Tarkowski and West Ham have made a £27m bid for the 27-year-old.
However it is likely that they will need to go higher than £30m to convince Burnley to sell. While Tarkowski has said that he wants to play in the Champions League, it is understood that he will consider moving to West Ham if he feels they can help him win a place in the England squad.
West Ham are also looking for new full-backs. Bologna’s Takehiro Tomiyasu and Brighton’s Bernardo are under consideration.