Chelsea defender Benoit Badiashile is a player Juventus will keep an eye on in January as they know the Blues have to sell players.
That’s according to Gazzetta dello Sport, who report that Chelsea need to sell 11 players in January and Badiashile is one of them on the list.
The newspaper reports that Juventus are looking at various options in the January transfer window to bolster their defence.
They’ve already ruled out a move for Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior as the club’s technical structure don’t like him and he would cost €25m anyway.
Badiashile, however, is a player who ‘should be monitored’ as there is a belief Chelsea need to sell 11 players in January, and he could be one of them.
Now, we would point out that there have been mixed reports around Badiashile in recent weeks. At first it was claimed from France that Chelsea were open to a sale but that was then quickly pushed away as various clubs, including Juventus, were linked with a move.
Since that initial report the overriding sense has been that the defender is not for sale, despite the 23-year-old not being a regular under Enzo Maresca this season.
Then there’s the claim of Chelsea needing to sell 11 players. While that would not be surprising given the money they’ve spent in recent years, selling that many in one month, particularly January which is notoriously difficult, seems farfetched.
We wouldn’t put it past those in charge at Stamford Bridge given what they’ve done previously, but it feels like a stretch. It would be even more difficult if any buyers, like Juventus, were acutely aware of the need to sell as well.
Put those two things together and we’re taking this with a pinch of salt for the time being, even if Chelsea are essentially a transfer transit hub at this point.
