Chelsea ‘ready to open discussions’ with Jean Michaël Seri — report

With the ascension of N’Golo Kanté to (one of) the best midfielders in the Premier League and the matching decline in Cesc Fabregas’ ability (especially over 90 minutes), Chelsea should be on the hunt for top quality midfielders to help him out. Kanté may have single-handedly held it together for Chelsea multiple times, but not even he can do that in every game.

If we keep that in mind, Le 10 Sport’s claim, that Chelsea are “ready to open discussions” with OGC Nice for Jean Michaël Sari fits perfectly. It may be true, it may be not, but it does fit.

It’s an exclusive! Here comes the boom? Of course Chelsea had been linked multiple times already with the soon to be 27-year-old, and we were at the “top of the queue” last week, even.

In any case, the report talks about how Chelsea are not fully convinced by Tiémoué Bakayoko, who has endured a tough debut season in the Premier League, and would like to add Seri to the squad. However, the move still seems to be in its preliminary phase, though discussions could begin in the near future.

Of course, considering the talent of Seri, Chelsea will not be the only club chasing his signature. According to rumours, Arsenal, are also chasing the Ivorian midfielder as they look to bolster their midfield to help their new manager, Unai Emery.

Seri, who has scored 11 goals and notched up 20+ assists in his three seasons at Nice, has a reported unofficial £35 million buyout and that certainly makes him the most affordable option out there, especially when you consider the price and Manchester City’s interest in Napoli midfielder, Jorginho, who has also been linked with the Blues.

I guess, it’s time to move on from Conte-Kante to Sarri-Seri era, eh? Enrique-Seri doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.