Pep Guardiola’s insistence on playing with a false nine and following the signing of Erling Haaland, Manchester City are almost sure to sell striker Gabriel Jesus. Chelsea have now joined the race for the Brazilian along with their city rivals Arsenal, reports AS.
Jesus looks set to depart City following his worst season with the club since signing in 2017. However, he still managed to score 13 goals across all tournaments despite extremely limited playing time to take his club tally to 95 goals for the club over the last five years.
The striker arrived in Europe with the tag of massive prodigious talent, but he could never establish himself as a consistent first-choice starter for Guardiola. Now 25, he has only a year left on his contract, and following the signings of Haaland and Julian Alvarez, his departure is taken for granted.
Chelsea have now joined the race for the Brazilian striker and are said to be ‘very interested’ in his signature. They will have to beat neighbours and rivals Arsenal in the race as the Gunners have prioritized the player as their summer signing for a while now. The Citizens will be looking for nearly 45 million pounds for his services.
Thomas Tuchel has also made a striker his new priority this summer and has communicated this to the incoming board of directors who are set to take charge soon. The high-profile transfer of Romelu Lukaku, which had promised a grand reunion nearly 12 months ago, hasn’t worked out well, and he could be on the way out of Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have also pondered about signing Robert Lewandowski, but the Polish international has made Barcelona his top priority if Bayern Munich allow him to leave this summer.
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Arsenal has been leading the race for Jesus for a long time, especially given that Mikel Arteta has worked closely with the player during his time as City assistant coach. However, the Blues will give him the opportunity of playing Champions League football and greater chances of winning silverware compared to Arsenal, who are still in their rebuilding phase.
Todd Boehly’s consortium wants to make a statement signing in their first summer in charge of the club, and Jesus would be seen as such.
