Monaco confirm bid to gazump Chelsea-bound Aleksandr Golovin

Since he was all but confirmed to be bound for Chelsea (with Juventus dropping out), we had not heard much from or about CSKA Moscow’s Aleksandr Golovin. One reason was the focus on Sarri and Jorginho; another was Golovin being busy at the World Cup with Russia. Both of those are over now, but it looks like Golovin’s future isn’t so settled after all.

Here come AS Monaco, with director of football Michael Emenalo and vice-president Vadim Vasilyev leading the charge.

“We made CSKA a proposal for Golovin. I can not say the amount of the transfer, but it is very worthy. The duration of the contract? Standard, 5 years.”

That’s a lot of specific detail already, which would lead us to believe that a deal might actually be close.

Golovin, at 22, might also be more inclined to join Monaco, where the pathway to the first-team is shorter and less windy than at Chelsea (or most other top teams).and Italy.

“I think in this situation the transition to Monaco is the most correct option for Golovin. To go from Russia immediately to the top club of the leading European league is very risky. We are able to launch the career of young players. It is enough to look at [Kylian] Mbappé.”

So, now the ball is is CSKA’s court, to either accept this deal or wait for Chelsea. They’ll have to decide fairly quickly.

“Everything should be decided in the coming days. Probably, even today. Understand, we can not wait long. If the transaction does not succeed, we will move on to the next candidate.”

-Vadim Vasiliev; Source: Sport Express via Google Translate

Golovin attracted quite a bit of attention by being one of Russia’s best players in their surprising World Cup campaign that reached all the way to the quarterfinals. However, Chelsea already have a large group of players in midfield, especially with the addition of Jorginho, and the potential return of Ruben Loftus-Cheek from his season on loan at Crystal Palace. So adding Golovin to this sector would be almost entirely unnecessary. Golovin himself might realize this as well.

The only bad part is that if he goes to Monaco, his price will be three or four times as much as it is now a few years from now.