Fabrizio Romano claims Chelsea plan to keep eye on 19-year-old talent after failed summer transfer pursuit
Chelsea remain interested in Dinamo Moscow young midfielder Arsen Zakharyan after failing to secure a late deal in the summer transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The 19-year-old was reportedly close to joining Chelsea in the summer as the new ownership group showed that they are willing to invest in young talents.
The Blues had already brought in two young midfielders in Carey Chukwuemeka and Cesare Casadei from Aston Villa and Inter Milan, respectively, but unlike these two, Zakharyan has already played regularly at the senior level in the last couple of seasons.
Chelsea also signed Denis Zakaria on loan from Juventus on the deadline day.
According to Romano, this does not change Chelsea’s plan to continue their pursuit of the Russia international.
“There’s a plan to follow the Russian talent in the next months,” the Italian transfer expert wrote on Twitter about Chelsea’s pursuit of Zakharyan.
“There was no full agreement on fee with Dinamo Moscow in August, but personal terms were 100 percent agreed.”
Earlier this month, Zakharyan’s Dinamo teammate Fyodor Smolov was caught on camera poking fun at the teenager’s potential move to Chelsea.
Considering the player himself already admitted that he already accepted Chelsea’s proposal, a January move could be on the cards.
Things change in football, though.
The Blues have just appointed Graham Potter as the new manager and are reportedly looking to hire a sporting director, both of which could transform the club’s transfer plans and, as a result, targets.
