Chelsea could drop £30m asking price in 3 weeks if AC Milan don’t pay up | OneFootball

With the January transfer window now open, things could move pretty quickly, especially at Chelsea.

After a successful first half of the season where the team proved they’re far ahead of expectations in many areas, it’s the perfect chance to tweak the squad and shift a few players who currently aren’t getting a lot of action.

That includes Carney Chukwuemeka, who has been a total outcast this season under Enzo Maresca.

The sporting directors weren’t able to arrange a deal they were happy with in the summer, meaning Carney stayed put. But given he’s barely even featuring in the B team (and given the B team isn’t going to be used as much between now and May) moving him on is a priority.

The question is where – and how much.

Chelsea demand £30m – but last week of window could see demands weaken

Carney Chukwuemeka in training.

Caughtoffside’s exclusive report today says that Chelsea want £30m, and that is putting the brakes on a potential move to AC Milan for the English talent. He’s long admired by the Italians, who have made a good trade in picking upwanted Blues over the last ten years.

They’d like to arrange a loan with an obligation to buy, and it seems Chelsea can swallow that – but only if the fixed fee is £30m, something Milan can’t stomach.

In Chukwuemeka’s case, we can’t see that price coming down too much – we could see it broken down into a very heavily incentivised structure perhaps, but not reduced in total.

What will be interested is what happens if we reach the final days of this month with no deal sorted. Will we see a late change of policy at that point, or are we really prepared to let unwanted squad players like Carney complete the full campaign on the bench?