All posts by z3u9t.icu

Rangers striker Cedric Itten could be on his way out of Ibrox during the summer transfer window…

What’s the talk?

One side is reportedly interested in the Gers outcast and with one Swiss team’s sporting director, Christoph Spycher, refusing to rule out a deal with a non-committal statement.

The Glasgow Times quotes the Young Boys chief as saying this in response to the link: “We never comment on speculation. Sometimes the rumours are the truth, sometimes they are completely wrong.

“You’ll know when something happens.”

Gio van Bronckhorst must axe him

The Ibrox head coach must pounce on this opportunity to brutally axe Itten from his squad ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

If Young Boys are interested in a deal for the attacker then van Bronckhorst and Ross Wilson must agree to let him go, for as much of the £2.7m they paid for him as they can recoup.

He is nowhere near good enough for Rangers and this has been proven in the second half of the season since he returned from his loan spell with Greuther Furth.

In the Premiership, he scored once – against Hearts on the final day – in six appearances and failed to provide any assists. He lost a whopping 74% of his duels in the division as he was a liability on the pitch for the club when he played.

The Switzerland international did not offer enough in the final third and his lightweight play out of possession meant that his teammates needed to carry him through matches as he struggled with the physicality of the games.

Scottish journalist James Black dubbed him “out the picture” recently and his measly return of six outings in the top-flight shows that he was not trusted to play on a regular basis. He was also left out of the Europa League run as he did not play a single minute in the competition.

Van Bronckhorst seemingly did not see enough from him in training or on the pitch to suggest that he would be a useful player to call upon week-in-week-out. His statistics when he did play back this up and indicate that he is not good enough to be a regular for Rangers.

This is why the Dutch head coach must now wield his axe on the 25-year-old and allow him to join Young Boys, or any other club interested in him, this summer.

AND in other news, Enquiry made: Rangers avoided disaster with “annoying” dud whose value dropped £8.4m…

Celtic are interested in signing exciting yet unseen Shrewsbury Town talent Ben Crompton this summer, according to a new transfer claim.

The Lowdown: Crompton impresses for Shrewsbury U18s

The 18-year-old has not yet been handed a chance in senior football, but that hasn’t stopped his reputation from growing.

Crompton has shone in midfield for Shrewsbury’s Under-18s, with his 6 foot 1 frame allowing him to be a dominant figure in the middle of the park at the youth level, while he can also feature at centre-back.

Having not yet signed a professional deal at his current club, it could be that he is snapped up during the summer transfer window, with some transfer news emerging from a local outlet on Tuesday morning.

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The Latest: Celtic & Ange scouting

According to The Shropshire Star, Celtic are interested in making a move for the ‘highly rated’ Crompton and he has now turned down two contract offers from the Shrews.

Ange Postecoglou’s scouts are believed to have ‘tracked his progress’ all season after he was originally ‘extremely highly-regarded’ during his youth career at Wolves.

There are no other teams mentioned in connection with the youngster, which is surely a big plus for Ange.

The Verdict: One for the future

While Crompton clearly wouldn’t come in as an immediate key player under Postecoglou, it is encouraging to see long-term planning being made by the club.

It is vital that the Hoops try to build a dynasty again after recapturing the Scottish Premiership title from Rangers – one that will last for many years – and bringing in top young players could be key to that.

It will be exciting to see Crompton develop if he does make the move to Parkhead and he could learn a huge amount from more senior midfielders such as Callum McGregor and Tom Rogic, should the latter stay put.

In other news, Kieran Devlin has been blown away by one Celtic hero. Find out who it is here.

Celtic saw a significant number of players make moves away from the Parkhead club during the previous summer and winter transfer windows.

The Hoops cashed in on the likes of Odsonne Edouard, Kristoffer Ajer and Ryan Christie whilst also seeing many other figures leave on loan deals.

Another figure that left the club was midfielder Scott Brown who joined Aberdeen on a free transfer after spending 14 years at Celtic.

Now that the next summer transfer window is around the corner, it seems as though the Bhoys could be set to see another player that has been at the club for a significant period of time make a move.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Sport5, Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv are eyeing up a potential summer move for Celtic midfielder Nir Bitton.

The Bhoys signed the midfielder back in the 2013 summer transfer window from Israeli club FC Ashdod.

Since then, the 30-year-old has gone on to make 270 appearances for the Hoops across all competitions, scoring 15 goals and delivering 16 assists along the way.

Time to get rid of Bitton

Even though he’s been at the club for a long time, this summer would be the ideal time for Celtic and Ange Postecoglou to finally axe him from the club.

With his current contract due to expire in May 2023, this summer is potentially the last time the Hoops can pick up some sort of transfer fee for him rather than seeing him leave on a free when his deal comes to an end.

This season has seen the veteran start 11 league games for his side and earn himself a rather uninspiring performance rating of 6.6 from WhoScored, making him one of the lowest-rated Celtic players still in the squad to start more than two league games.

This shows that not only is the £14k-per-week midfielder not at the top of the pecking order for Postecoglou but also that he hasn’t been making the most of his chances when he has had the opportunity to play.

Furthermore, he is prone to a reckless mistake, with his red card at the beginning of the term against FC Midtjylland arguably costing them a place in the Champions League, an eventuality that would have presented Celtic with a significant windfall of cash.

Having been slammed for his “daft” decision making in the past by Frank McAvennie as well as being labelled as a “walking joke” by Bhoys Analytics on Twitter, Bitton should not be in Postecoglou’s plans for next season if the Hoops boss wants to progress and push his side further.

In other news: “Celtic will be..”: Insider drops exciting transfer claim that’ll leave Ange buzzing

Everton are among the clubs interested in Bologna midfielder Mattias Svanberg, according to local outlet 1000 Cuori Rossoblu (via Sport Witness). 

The lowdown

Svanberg is a 23-year-old central midfielder who can also play just in front of the back four or in a more advanced role.

The Swede, who only didn’t feature in last summer’s European Championships due to testing positive for Covid-19, is now approaching the final year of his contract with the 13th-place outfit.

He’s started 31 of their 36 league matches so far this season and made 117 Serie A appearances overall.

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The latest

Svanberg, the report says, doesn’t intend to renew his deal, and so he’s the ‘most likely’ asset to be offloaded in a ‘profitable sale’.

This sends a ‘loud and clear’ message to his Premier League suitors, including Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United. Serie A sides Napoli and Fiorentina are apparently in the running too.

In terms of a price tag, Bologna will find it difficult to turn down offers nudging €20milllion (£17million).

The verdict

What kind of midfielder is Svanberg? Well, first and foremost, he is someone who can augment the attack.

He’s scored three goals, one of which was called ‘phenomenal’ by talent scout Jacek Kulig, and also provided three assists in the league this season.

Svanberg is also above average when it comes to receiving progressive passes – a marker of positional intelligence – and blocks, a testament to his off-ball contribution (via FBRef).

He boasts a similar profile to the likes of Youri Tielemans and John McGinn, two Premier League midfielders with whom Everton supporters may be more familiar.

Notably, he carries the implicit endorsement of compatriot Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who reportedly asked AC Milan to snap him up last year.

This could be a reasonably good bit of business from director of football Kevin Thelwell.

In other news, Tony Scott has been left in disbelief after this Everton footage emerged.

Journalist Matteo Moretto, formerly of Sky Sports, has now shared an exit update out of Tottenham Hotspur involving current Villarreal loanee Giovani Lo Celso.

The Lowdown: Lo Celso shines…

The Argentine has been shining at the Estadio de la Cerámica under Unai Emery after being unable to cut it at Spurs over the first half of the 2021/2022 Premier League season.

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Spanish media have hailed the performances of Lo Celso, even calling him a ‘giant’ during his time at Villarreal, prompting the La Liga club to set their sights on a permanent deal.

Tottenham are apparently confident they can agree a fee around the £30 million mark, according to Football Insider, with former Sky journalist Moretto sharing an update.

The Latest: Lo Celso update emerges…

According to the reporter, speaking to Twitter page ‘All About Argentina’, Villarreal will indeed try to buy Lo Celso following his brilliant spell on loan.

It is also believed that talks with Tottenham are imminent with negotiations set to begin ‘soon’.

The Verdict: Time to go?

Lo Celso’s quality has been highlighted by his stellar spell at Villarreal and it will be slightly disappointing to see a clearly capable player leave north London, if they can agree terms.

Villarreal shot stopper Geronimo Rulli recently claimed that his compatriot is ‘a top player in the world’ and you could argue that claim has been backed by his recent displays.

However, the South American simply didn’t turn it on often enough, with Spurs critics even branding Lo Celso a ‘passenger’ earlier this season.

Villarreal seems like a great match and it’s now up to Fabio Paratici to negotiate terms suitable for both Spurs and the Europa League winners.

In other news: Tottenham expected to move for ‘phenomenal’ £101m star after Conte request, find out more here.

While Morgan Schneiderlin may not have been the only transfer mistake made under the Farhad Moshiri regime at Everton, he certainly proved one of the most expensive, having failed to live up to his initial hefty price tag.

The Frenchman had originally made his name as part of the hugely talented Southampton side which stormed back into the Premier League in 2012 under Nigel Adkins, alongside the likes of Adam Lallana and Jose Fonte, having helped the Saints to navigate their way out of the third tier after joining in 2008.

His displays on the south coast alerted the attention of Manchester United, with Louis Van Gaal opting to fork out £25m for the defensive midfielder in 2015, only for the player to be moved on just 18 months later following Jose Mourinho’s appointment.

Despite failing to convince at Old Trafford, the Toffees and Ronald Koeman – in their infinite wisdom – decided that Schneiderlin was worth a punt, as they coughed up a fairly sizeable £24m to bring him Goodison Park in January 2017.

Schneiderlin’s Everton woes

In truth, those among the United hierarchy would have been rubbing their hands in glee at having been able to recoup almost their entire initial transfer fee on a player who had failed to nail down a regular starting berth and who, according to club legend Rio Ferdinand, posed “zero threat” in the middle of the park.

Nevertheless, the Goodison Park outfit went ahead with the deal, although they would eventually wish they hadn’t as the Frenchman went on to score just one goal in 88 appearances in all competitions over the next three years.

In fact, he had as many goal contributions in total as he did red cards (three), notably getting sent off in a Europa League defeat to Lyon in November 2017, with the dismissal leaving pundit Chris Sutton to suggest that the player “didn’t look like he wanted to be there”.

As it proved, Schneiderlin might as well not have been on Merseyside over the next few years, as he made next to no impact in blue, while he was infamously booed by his own supporters while entering the fray as a substitute in February 2018, just a year into his time at the club.

Having failed to ever win over the crowd or the string of managers who came and went at Everton, he was eventually shipped off to Nice in January 2021 for a fraction of his initial cost, with the Premier League outfit having been forced to accept that he was simply a lost cause.

Since then, the 32-year-old has made 56 appearances for his current club in all competitions, although he is still yet to find the net, while his market value has now dropped to a mere £3.6m – a reflection of his stark decline over the last five years or so.

In other news, £44m down the drain: Allardyce’s £69k-p/w disaster has rinsed Everton for 54 months

An update on Daniel Farke’s future as Leeds United manager has now emerged following the 3-1 defeat against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

Following the loss at the City Ground at the weekend, Leeds find themselves just one point above the Premier League relegation zone, having averaged a point per game across their opening 11 matches.

The defeat could have major ramifications at the end of the season, with Forest picking up what could be a vital three points, given that they are now just two points behind the Whites, with Sean Dyche making a major impact since his arrival.

The Tricky Trees are already on their third manager this season, while the Whites are yet to make a change, having chosen to keep the faith in Farke, but there is growing discontent among supporters, off the back of four defeats in the last five Premier League games.

Graeme Bailey shares update on Farke's future as Leeds manager

According to journalist Graeme Bailey, who recently spoke to Leeds United News, the 49ers plan to keep the faith in Farke, despite the recent poor results, the German is still set to be given until January to oversee a turnaround.

The owners are aware the squad he’s working with isn’t the strongest, but the 49-year-old is expected to be given the next seven games in what may come as a surprise given Leeds’ recent form.

Bailey adds: “Pressure is mounting on Daniel Farke – but he knew this was coming and the club did too. This is going to be a long season. Everyone was aware. They didn’t spend the tens of millions that Sunderland did.

“They know Farke can only do so much with the squad at his disposal. But the quality of performance and how they compete is going to be vital in the coming weeks.”

In truth, it would be a major gamble for the 49ers to persist with their manner for that length of time, given his previous record in the Premier League, playing a part in Norwich City being relegated in the 2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons.

Leeds’ upcoming fixtures before January also make for grim reading, with Farke’s side set to come up against a number of in-form teams, as well as the reigning champions.

Leeds’ upcoming fixtures

Date

Aston Villa (h)

November 23rd

Manchester City (a)

November 29th

Chelsea (h)

December 3rd

Liverpool (h)

December 6th

Brentford (a)

December 14th

Crystal Palace (h)

December 21st

Sunderland (a)

December 28th

The recent trip to Nottingham Forest may have been Leeds’ best opportunity to pick up points for quite some time, and it is difficult to see when the next win is going to come, so it would not be surprising if the 49ers are forced into action sooner rather than later…

Brendan Rodgers now contender to replace Farke as Leeds manager Brendan Rodgers a contender to take over at Leeds as pressure mounts on Farke

The Whites could look to a figure with extensive Premier League experience to take over from Daniel Farke.

BySean Markus Clifford Nov 10, 2025

Started in 2003, the Golden Boy award has featured some incredibly impressive talents, but not all of those talents have gone on to justify winning the trophy over the years.

We’ve seen some generational stars start their journey at this very point, becoming destined to become the world’s best, yet we’ve also seen ultimate transfer flops take hold of the award.

Ballon d'Or 2026 Power Rankings

Who will be lifting the individual honour in 2026?

ByCharlie Smith Nov 6, 2025

These days, European football is filled with some names that should be guaranteed to take this current era by storm.

The likes of Lamine Yamal, Desire Doue, Estevao and Arda Guler have all been nominated for the 2025 award and all of those players will be hoping to avoid following the same path as some of the last 10 players to win the award.

10 2024: Lamine Yamal

Whilst it’s tough to decide which path most winners are going to take, it’s easy with Yamal. The Barcelona star is going to go straight to the very top. It’s easy to argue that he’s there already, having finished second in the 2025 Ballon d’Or.

Now, he looks destined to become the first-ever player to win the Golden Boy award in back-to-back years. At just 18 years old, there simply isn’t a better young player on the planet than La Masia’s latest wonderkid.

Since winning the award in 2024, the Spain international has only become even better, even more confident and even likelier to take football’s vacant crown in place of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

9 2023: Jude Bellingham

It’s easy to forget just how young Jude Bellingham is. He has that natural leadership way beyond his years. Yet, it was only two years ago that he was picking up the Golden Boy award after a sensational debut campaign for Real Madrid.

His rise didn’t come to a crashing halt, either. Although injuries are currently handing him a disrupted start to life under Xabi Alonso at the Bernabeu, the Englishman remains one of the most important players at the club and will no doubt make his mark under his new manager.

At just 22 years old, Bellingham is a Champions League winner who has already featured at the World Cup and European Championship for the Three Lions. With the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, he’s also expected to win his place back for the first time under Thomas Tuchel.

8 2022: Gavi

Football has a scheduling problem and one of the biggest victims to that schedule has been Gavi. Barcelona discovered their next best thing in 2022 when the midfielder won the Golden Boy award, but they simply did too much too soon.

The Spaniard was rarely rested when he first broke through in La Liga and has since suffered significant knee injuries. What was football’s newest Golden Boy in 2022 is now a star frustrated by injury setbacks at just 21 years old.

There’s still time for Gavi to work his way back to full fitness, but his problems should act as a stark warning for UEFA and FIFA as they add more fixtures to the football calendar.

7 2021: Pedri

Onto another Barcelona star, Pedri picked up the Golden Boy award in 2021 and has not looked back since. Whilst he’s also suffered a number of injuries since breaking through in Spain, the 22-year-old is now enjoying the best form of his career and is being recognised by many as one of the best midfielder’s that European football has to offer.

Like Yamal, Pedri is just getting started. He’s one that looks destined to become a generational talent four years on from winning such a prestigious award.

6 2020: Erling Haaland

Erling Haaland was unstoppable in 2020 and is inevitable in 2025. He looked destined to reach the peak of European football when he won the Golden Boy award at Borussia Dortmund and now looks likely to win a Ballon d’Or one day at Manchester City.

Since winning the award, the Norway international has joined City, won the Premier League, broke the record for goals in a single Premier League campaign and won a historic treble with the Citizens. He is one of, if not the best striker in the world.

5 2019: Joao Felix

It’s not all Haalands and Yamals on this list. A certain Joao Felix picked up the award in 2019 just months after sealing a move worth as much as £113m to Atletico Madrid.

The La Liga giants went all in one what was one of the best young players in the world. Now, six years on, he plays his football at Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr.

Atletico Madrid

34

131

Chelsea

40

11

Barcelona

44

10

AC Milan

21

3

From Chelsea and Barcelona all the way to AC Milan, it’s never clicked for Felix. The most damning statistic of all is that the failed wonderkid never even reached the 20-goal mark for any of those aforementioned clubs after Atletico Madrid. Simply put, he peaked when he won the Golden Boy award in 2019.

4 2018: Matthijs de Ligt

Matthijs de Ligt is a difficult one to judge. Whilst he’s now part of a struggling Manchester United side under Ruben Amorim, he still went on to seal a move to Juventus and then Bayern Munich after picking up the award in 2018 with Ajax.

The Dutchman was part of a generation of young players that very nearly made history under Erik ten Hag in the Netherlands, as they reached the Champions League semi-final. Ultimately, it wasn’t to be, but the defender did enough for his reputation to earn a big move elsewhere alongside several others.

De Ligt hasn’t endured the same struggles as Felix since the Golden Boy honour, but he is not the best defender in the world that many expected him to be by this stage.

3 2017: Kylian Mbappe

Like Haaland earlier in this list, Kylian Mbappe was destined to win the Golden Boy from the start of his Monaco career. Picking up the award at Paris Saint-Germain not long after sealing a loan move to the French giants which would become a £166m one year later, Mbappe stood tall as the best young player in the world.

Since then, although he is yet to be recognised with a Ballon d’Or, the Frenchman has fulfilled his prophecy and is now arguably Real Madrid’s most important player. After initially making a slow start in Spain, the 26-year-old has discovered his best form and may well be back in conversation for football’s highest honours soon enough.

2 2016: Renato Sanches

Who remembers Renato Sanches? Swansea City fans certainly will. The midfielder took Europe by storm as Portugal won Euro 2016 and went on to win the Golden Boy award as a result. Bayern Munich thought they had stolen a generational player from Benfica when he was accepting the award, but injuries soon struck and a move to Wales soon came calling.

No matter his struggle for form and injuries, Swansea couldn’t believe their luck when they signed Sanches on loan in 2017, only to suffer relegation and watch on as he failed to make his mark.

Beyond the English side, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and AS Roma also attempted to revive the midfielder’s career, but he ultimately never rediscovered his best form. Now, at 28 years old, he plays his football on loan from PSG at Greek side Panathinaikos.

1 2015: Anthony Martial

“Welcome to the Premier League, Anthony Martial”, is what Martin Tyler famously exclaimed when the Frenchman left Martin Skrtel bamboozled to score a stunning debut goal for Manchester United against Liverpool. At that point, Old Trafford and the rest of the Premier League believed a generational star had arrived.

A star boy quickly became a struggling star, however, and that debut goal remains Martial’s most memorable moment in a Man United shirt. As the Red Devils hired and fired Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and others, the Frenchman failed to truly make his mark. Now, he plays for Mexican side Monterrey.

That Ballon d’Or clause is beginning to look a tad awkward, isn’t it?

It’s been another characteristically busy summer for Chelsea this year.

As well as making it to the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup – the only English side to do so – the Blues have been wheeling and dealing in the transfer market.

The latest star to be announced by the club was striker Joao Pedro, who took the now well-trodden path to Stamford Bridge from Brighton & Hove Albion for around £60m.

However, the West Londoners are far from done there, as a deal has reportedly now been reached to sign Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund, and on top of that, a talent who could be the next Cole Palmer has also been linked.

Chelsea target young talents

The ethos at Chelsea over the last few years has been to buy young, up-and-coming talents, which is something they are continuing to do this summer.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

For example, Gittens, whose final price tag appears to be around £55m, is still just 20 years old, and based on his tally of 12 goals and five assists in 49 games last season, looks set for a bright future.

Likewise, Liam Delap, who joined the club from Ipswich Town for just £30m prior to the CWC last month, is still just 22, and already has a goal and an assist to his name in four appearances for the Blues.

And now, there is another promising gem that is on the club’s radar: Tyler Dibling.

Yes, according to a recent report from Football Transfers, Chelsea are incredibly interested in the Southampton prospect.

In fact, the report goes a step further, claiming that West Londoners have already begun talks with the youngster’s camp and are considering making an offer for him.

However, they aren’t the only ones interested in the 19-year-old, as Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Man Utd, Aston Villa, and RB Leipzig are all keeping an eye on him.

Moreover, the Saints reportedly value their exciting talent at a minimum of £55m.

In all, it could be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line, but given Dibling’s ability and potential, it’s one worth fighting for, especially as he could be their next Palmer.

Why Dibling could be Palmer 2.0

So, the first thing to say is that we know this is a massive statement, but to be clear, we are not saying that Dibling is like Palmer at the moment, as he is not, and it’s not even close.

However, there are some clear similarities between them and their potential moves, should the Southampton gem move to Chelsea.

For example, he’d be another young, reasonably sought-after English talent moving to Stamford Bridge to test himself with regular football at a massive club.

Moreover, while the Exeter-born dynamo is primarily a right-winger, he has spent plenty of time playing in attacking midfield and has actually played in a multitude of positions.

Similarly, the Blues talismanic attacker tends to play in attacking midfield, but has spent plenty of time off the right, as well as in a number of areas on the pitch.

Finally, while he wasn’t able to have quite the same impact as Palmer did last season, in part because he’s younger and was playing in a terrible team, the teenager has the same determination to make things happen.

For example, FBref placed him in the top 13% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Premier League last season for successful take-ons per 90, and in 38 games across all competitions, he scored four goals and provided three assists.

Appearances

38

Minutes

2215′

Goals

4

Assists

3

Goal Involvements per Match

0.18

Minutes per Goal Involvement

316.42′

It’s not just us either, as Dion Dublin argued that “he plays his game like Cole Palmer” last season, in part due to the way he “rolls players and takes the ball well.”

Ultimately, he’s clearly not yet at the level of Palmer, but Dibling looks like he could reach that level in the future, and therefore, Chelsea should do what they can to sign him.

More exciting than Delap: Chelsea set to submit £34m bid to sign CWC star

The incredible talent could be a future superstar for Chelsea.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Jul 4, 2025

Chelsea transfer chiefs appear set to be thwarted by European champions PSG in their pursuit of a top target, with Enzo Maresca dealt his first summer blow as he looks to reshape the squad in his image.

"Huge fan" – Maresca really wants Chelsea to sign £68m Real Madrid target

The Italian views him as a top transfer priority.

1 ByEmilio Galantini Jun 21, 2025

Despite possessing a squad rich with youthful quality, their 3-1 Club World Cup defeat to Brazilian side Flamengo indicates there is still plenty of work to be done on the squad, with Maresca also looking to transform Chelsea into genuine title challengers.

The Italian, speaking in a press conference after Chelsea’s damaging loss – which now makes their next game against ES Tunis an absolute must-win – admitted that he’s currently experimenting with his system and tactics in preparation for 2025/2026.

Cole Palmer

7.33

Moises Caicedo

7.02

Enzo Fernández

6.95

Nicolas Jackson

6.88

Noni Madueke

6.82

via WhoScored

“Unfortunately, we conceded two goals in a very short period, a very short moment — and then the red card,” Maresca said.

“Then it’s very complicated to come back into the game. We tried, but congratulations to them. I think we tried to do something different during the game, also for next season, but congratulations to them. Now we have one more game, and we are going to try to win the next one.”

Off the field, one of many items on Chelsea’s to-do list when it comes to summer recruitment is the addition of a new central defender – which has long been rumoured as a priority.

Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi and Wesley Fofana face uncertain futures, according to some reports, with Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite and Sporting CP’s Ousmane Diomande among the names on Chelsea’s centre-back shortlist this summer.

However, Bournemouth defender Illia Zabarnyi won’t be moving to west London.

Chelsea target Illia Zabarnyi agrees to join PSG

Zabarnyi was called the Premier League’s most “underrated” defender recently by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp, and Chelsea recently knocked on the Ukraine international’s door in their pursuit of another option for the heart of Maresca’s defence.

“He is probably the most underrated player,” said Redknapp.

“I also spoke with Ukrainian legend Andriy Shevchenko, and he mentioned that Illia has everything it takes to reach the next level. Everyone is talking about Dean Huijsen. Yes, he is a fantastic young player, but Zabarnyi plays very aggressively in defense as well. I was genuinely impressed by him. He shows remarkable calmness on the pitch.”

Bournemouth are demanding around £51 million to let the 22-year-old leave, but according to journalist Graeme Bailey, Zabarnyi has agreed terms to join PSG despite Chelsea’s attempts to sign him.

“He really is only focused on PSG,” Bailey told TBR Football.

“I am told that he has agreed personal terms in principle, but there is still some way to go in terms between Bournemouth and PSG. Bournemouth are not too happy with how this is going, but they know the player wants the move and has made that clear.

“When a team like PSG comes calling, even when there is no release clause – it is tough. I can confirm even in the last few weeks since it emerged about PSG, that Chelsea and Newcastle again asked the question, but were also told that he only wants PSG.”