Chelsea are weighing up whether to enter discussions for one player as they look to improve their attack this summer.
The Blues have already strengthened their defence by bringing in Tosin Adarabioyo from Fulham.
They now appear to have moved on to their attack after targeting the likes of Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise and Atletico Madrid’s Samu Omorodion.
However, Olise is set to join Bayern Munich in a blow to Chelsea, while the club have reportedly cooled their interest in Omorodion.
A move for another player who they have been linked with, though, could still be on.
Chelsea reluctant to pay full release clause up front
Having seemingly ended their pursuit of Omorodion, Chelsea will now have to turn to other strikers.
One man who could now move up their shortlist as a result is Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke.
However, according to journalist Simon Phillips, his release clause is a bit of a problem for the Blues, who could decide to enter negotiations with their Premier League rivals to try and strike a deal on their terms.
On his Substack, he wrote: “My top SPTC source keeps mentioning Solanke, as he’s been hearing more and more noise on the former Blue in the last week and a half.
“It’s still the same situation at the moment though, Bournemouth want the whole release clause up front. But Chelsea are contemplating going into official negotiations to try and see if they would fold on it at all.”
The Athletic reported earlier this month that Solanke has a £65m release clause in his contract that can be activated by certain clubs.
Chelsea should not pay £65m for Dominic Solanke
Chelsea should consider signing Solanke if they can convince Bournemouth to sell the striker for less than his release clause.
He had an excellent 2023/24 Premier League campaign, playing all 38 of the Cherries’ games and scoring 19 goals.
However, that was the first time he showed real proficiency in the English top flight. Spending £65m on a forward whose overall track record at this level is not amazing would be quite a bit of a gamble.
