CHELSEA are ramping up their transfer plans ahead of the return of the Premier League season.
Frank Lampard is targeting boyhood Blues fan Jadon Sancho and has also reportedly made a "mega offer" to Napoli's Dries Mertens.
Get all the latest news and gossip from Stamford Bridge here…
MORNING CHELSEA FANS
SunSport revealed how the Blues are plotting a transfer swoop for Germany striker Luca Waldschmidt – dubbed the next Gerd Muller.
Boss Frank Lampard is eyeing a couple of new front men when the window opens and is willing to spend £20million on the Freiburg star.
Waldschmidt, 23, has won two senior caps following his sensational performance in last year’s European Under-21 Championship in Italy, where he banged in seven goals in four games.
And it is likely to mean Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud will be shown the exit door.
Sticking on the transfer front, Chelsea could miss out on target Gabriel Magalhaes who appears on the brink of joining Premier League rivals Everton.
Off the field, captain Cesar Azpilicueta rounded the troops to agree on a £10million pay cut to the player's salaries.
A ten per cent pay cut kicks in from next month and will run until the hoped-for start date of the new season in September.
Stamford Bridge boss Frank Lampard has already volunteered to have his salary slashed.
Meanwhile fans in lockdown have been voting on the club's most influential transfer.
And it's a two-horse race between Eden Hazard and Gianfranco Zola who are just ahead of Petr Cech.
HAVING A LUC
Chelsea are keeping an eye on Freiburg forward Luca Waldschmidt with Frank Lampard keen to boost his attacking options.
Waldschmidt, 23, has won two senior caps following his sensational performance in last year’s European Under-21 Championship in Italy, where he banged in seven goals in four games.
The locals were so impressed with the starlet they named him ‘Il Bomber’ in a nod to West Germany’s legend Gerd Muller, who was known as ‘Der Bomber’.
Lampard, 41, has been on Waldschmidt’s trail since and wants to bring him to the Premier League in a £20million deal.
He may face competition from rivals and Freiburg may try to spark an auction.
Chelsea think Waldschmidt can improve and that he will develop when he learns to use his physique.
ASKING PRICE
Ajax have named their price for goalkeeper Andre Onana with Chelsea considering a move to replace Kepa Arrizabalaga.
According to reports, the Dutch side are hoping to receive £35million for the 24-year-old.
Chelsea are keen to sign a new keeper after unconvincing performances from Kepa.
The Spaniard was replaced by second-choice Willy Caballero as Frank Lampard weighs up his options.
Kepa cost a staggering £72million and the Blues are hoping to avoid splashing out again.
OVERSEAS STAR
Chelsea fans are split over what the club's most influential European transfer was with Gianfranco Zola and Eden Hazard neck and neck just ahead of Petr Cech.
On the latest Match of The Day podcast, the Premier League's most influential European exports were discussed.
And Chelsea's website listed 12 players – who had never played in England before arriving at Stamford Bridge – and asked fans to vote on who was the biggest influence at the club.
The likes of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Dan Petrescu and Cesc Fabregas were ruled out due to their prior experience in the Premier League.
But Claude Makelele, Ruud Gullit, Branislav Ivanovic, Roberto Di Matteo, Marcel Desailly, Ricardo Carvalho, Frank Leboeuf, Andre Flo and William Gallas joined Zola, Hazard and Cech on the list.
Belgian forward Hazard – who left for Real Madrid last summer – tops the list with 18 per cent of the votes, with playmaker Zola behind by just one per cent.
SARRI YOU'RE OFF
Maurizio Sarri has revealed Chelsea players cried when he told them he was leaving.
The Juventus boss says his style rubbed some stars up the wrong way, but they appreciated him in the end.
The Italian said: “I had a conflicted relationship with the Chelsea dressing room but, when I told them I’d be leaving, many of them cried.
“I’m not so much a person who pats others on the back. I talk a lot about what they do wrong and less about the good things they do.
“I think that has a big impact, but then they learn to appreciate you for who you are.
“The longest relationships are with the lads I played least, so I think they recognise something once they absorb your character.”
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