The transfer window is now officially open and Chelsea could inadvertently be the side to kick start Leeds United’s into action.
It is expected to be a busy summer at Elland Road following their failure to win promotion with plenty of incomings and outgoings on the cards.
Player sales are likely to form the foundation of Leeds‘ window as they look to ensure they remain compliant with PSR, and funds will need to be raised before June 30.
Paraag Marathe has admitted there will have to be some player trading in order for funds to be available for Daniel Farke, which is just simply the reality of being a Championship club.
Crysencio Summerville, Willy Gnonto, Archie Gray and Georginio Rutter are just some of the names that have been touted for potential exits.
Chelsea’s move for Crystal Palace star Michael Olise
Chelsea are always one of the busiest sides across Europe when it comes to making signings and it would appear they are closing in on another big money signing.
According to various journalists including David Ornstein, the Blues are now in contact with Crystal Palace over signing their star right-winger Michael Olise.
It would appear Chelsea are the front of the queue for the highly-sought after 22-year-old and given he has a release clause in his contract, it seems a question of when, not if he departs.
Olise’s exit would leave a huge hole in that Palace frontline and on the lookout for replacements, one of which could be Leeds star Summerville.
It was reported by the Mirror earlier this month that Palace would turn to Summerville if one of Olise or Ebere Eze were sold, which now looks like it could be the case.
Olise’s release clause is said to be somewhere in the region of £60 million and so that would give them plenty of funds to meet Leeds’ £30 million asking price for Summerville.
Olise move could cause Leeds transfer domino
As mentioned previously, player sales are likely to be the first cause of action at Leeds this summer and the quicker Chelsea get a move for Olise wrapped up, the quicker Palace will move for a replacement.
If Summerville is Palace’s number one target, the two clubs will hopefully be able to come to a swift agreement. £30 million should go a long way to easing PSR concerns given he was bought for just £1.3 million in 2020.
More importantly, that would then open up some leeway in the market for Leeds to start making signings of their own.
It took until the third week of July for Leeds to make their first addition last summer and that slow start to the season ultimately cost them top two. They cannot afford a repeat of that this time around.