The rumour mill has really been in overdrive today. We've had some murmurings about Hulk, Radamel Falcao, Luka Modric, Lucas Moura and Cheick Tiote, and you should probably treat those like we normally do - understand that there's probably some interest on Chelsea's part but that nothing is particularly likely to happen this summer. All well and good, but the usual names aren't the only ones being associated with the Blues at the moment. Enter Tim Krul.
Here's what the Independent has to say:
Chelsea believe that an offer of £10m would be very difficult for Newcastle to turn down and they could potentially offer [Krul] the chance to perform in the Champions League.
Ok then. Let's go through a list of reasons why this probably should not have been published.
- Petr Cech. He is a professional goalkeeper and has played for Chelsea since 2004. Petr Cech is 29 years old and while he's not in the conversation for 'best in the world' anymore, he's clearly got many years of top-flight football left in him. Krul would not be a major upgrade, and he might not even be a minor one.
- Thibaut Courtois. He is a professional goalkeeper and plays on loan at Atletico Madrid, with Chelsea as his parent club. He is, by all accounts, very very good, and Chelsea have already spent a decent sum of money on bringing him over from Genk with the intent of him becoming Cech's long-term successor. He's so highly valued that (probably false) rumours are circulating of Real Madrid offering '22M plus' for the young shot-stopper. If Cech is moving on, Courtois is stepping in.
- Henrique Hilario's contract extension. Jokes! Haha!
- Krul's new deal. Tim Krul signed a new five-year contract with Newcastle United two weeks ago. When players are signed long-term, there's very little incentive for their clubs to move them on.
- Newcastle's financial health. The ever-informative Swiss Ramble wrote about Newcastle earlier today (nice timing!), and they're in phenomenal shape for a team that was in the Championship two seasons ago. There's no reason whatsoever for the club to sell off assets that they want to keep around, and Chelsea aren't in a position to bully them into a sale.