Chelsea expressed late interest in signing Fulham midfielder Sander Berge while looking to reinforce their squad ahead of Enzo Fernandez’s exit.
The London club hoped to recruit a central midfielder in the final days of the summer window as Fernandez moved closer to joining Manchester City.
Their efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful, with Fernandez leaving in a £125m transfer and no replacement arriving.
Norway international Berge was reportedly one of the players Chelsea considered late in the window. No official offer was submitted, however, while Fulham regarded the 28-year-old as unavailable for transfer.
Berge has established himself as an important member of the Cottagers’ squad, recording 78 appearances since moving from Burnley in 2023.
On deadline day, Chelsea eventually concentrated on Monaco’s Lamine Camara and Roma midfielder Manu Kone.
The club thought an agreement worth £47m had been reached for Camara in the final hours, only for the proposed transfer to fall apart shortly before the deadline.
Chelsea were also linked with a deadline-day move for Everton midfielder James Garner, although Toffees boss David Moyes denied that any approach had taken place.
After their recent setbacks, strengthening central midfield is expected to be a major objective for Chelsea in January, with Bournemouth’s Alex Scott remaining one of their longer-term options.
The shortage of midfield alternatives was evident during Sunday’s defeat by Arsenal, when manager Xabi Alonso ended the contest with full-backs Reece James and Malo Gusto operating centrally.
Chelsea are nevertheless optimistic that Moises Caicedo will recover from the injury that kept him out at Emirates Stadium and be available for Saturday’s home fixture against Hull at 15:00 BST.
What do you feel about this post?
Like
Love
Happy
Haha
Sad
