Chelsea have joined the race to sign the Brighton striker Evan Ferguson. Brighton are willing to sell or loan the Republic of Ireland international, who has been the subject of interest from Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Bournemouth, Everton Tottenham and West Ham.
Leverkusen were seen as frontrunners for Ferguson only for their plans to be complicated by Al-Nassr pulling out of a deal to sign Victor Boniface. That left West Ham in a strong position but they risk being outmuscled by Chelsea. Enzo Maresca is keen to bring in a striker to compete with Nicolas Jackson, who has gone seven games without scoring in the Premier League, and Ferguson is well known to the Stamford Bridge club’s recruitment team. Paul Winstanley, Chelsea’s co-sporting director, was previously at Brighton.
It is unclear if Chelsea, who have recruited heavily from Brighton during the past two-and-a-half years, want a loan or a permanent deal. It is thought Ferguson, who is recovering from an ankle injury, could be available for £40m. The 20-year-old has scored once this season but is seen as one of the best young forwards in England.
The race for Ferguson is unpredictable. Arsenal need a striker but do not have any domestic loans left and have targeted Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins. Ferguson would be below Richarlison and Dominic Solanke in the pecking order at Spurs. He would have opportunities to play regularly at Bournemouth, however, who have lost Enes Unal and Evanilson to injury, as well as at West Ham.
Chelsea have alternative options before the transfer window closes on Monday. They remain interested in the Bayern Munich forward Mathys Tel and the Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho. Spurs are pushing to sign Tel after holding talks with Bayern but there are doubts over whether they have the funds to complete a deal for the Frenchman.
Other targets for Chelsea include Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams and Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. They are also tracking the Ipswich forward Liam Delap. Villa, meanwhile, are looking to sign the France defender Axel Disasi and the Portugal forward João Félix from Chelsea, who have agreed a deal for their academy product Harvey Vale to join Queens Park Rangers on a free transfer. — Guardian
