Chelsea could try to sign Amadou Onana again if Everton are relegated – Simon Phillips
Chelsea could look to reignite their interest in Amadou Onana this summer if Everton get relegated, according to journalist Simon Phillips.
The Toffees signed the Belgium international last summer from Lille in a £33m deal, but had to fend off interest from Chelsea in January as they explored a deal amid Everton’s financial troubles.
Onana stayed committed to his current club at the time and a deal never progressed, and while Chelsea haven’t followed up on their interest since, Phillips told GiveMeSport (14 March) that they could try again in the summer if Everton are relegated and they sense the opportunity for a bargain deal.
“I’ve not heard of any follow-ups to Chelsea’s interest in Onana at the moment, but as you say, he was looked at as an option in January,” he said.
“This is something that could develop more, especially if Everton end up getting relegated and Chelsea sense a bargain deal to be done.
“It felt to me in January that he was more of a player they turned to as maybe a plan D. I don’t expect him to be high up on the list but he’s certainly a player that Chelsea have considered.”
Nightmare
Everton are in a bit of a nightmare situation right now when it comes to Onana, because he’s been so impressive despite us being so bad.
He’s without doubt been among our best performers, and it shows when nobody has mentioned his price tag at all despite the club struggling and battling against relegation all season.
If the worst does happen and we do get relegated, then he would no doubt be one of the first players to leave as he’s far too good for that level and he’s also one of the most saleable assets that we have at the club.
But even if we stay up our financial situation means that players will likely leave just like when we were forced to sell Richarlison and Anthony Gordon, and Onana will be at the top of a lot of teams’ lists. Chelsea have so much money too, having spent over £600m since last summer, that they’d be right in the mix.
Hopefully we can avoid relegation and he will continue to show the loyalty he has shown so far, because he has the talent to drag us up the table with his quality and we’re a far better team with him in it.