Seri in London, ‘in contact’ with Chelsea, Arsenal — report

Aleksandr Golovin may yet be Chelsea’s first incoming transfer of the summer, but he certainly should not be the last. One candidate who’s also been linked a few times is Nice box-to-box midfielder Jean Michaël Seri.

Seri is apparently so keen to play in the Premier League that he’s been excused from training camp and has apparently flown to London without a deal in hand, at least according to France Football journalist Nabil Djellit.

Who might the 26 year-old be talking to? Arsenal had been touted as the favorites to get him. But they’re giving Argentina defensive midfielder Lucas Torreira a medical and if he passes and they sign him, that’ll be the end of their major summer transfer business, according to the BBC’s David Ornstein.

Which reportedly leaves West Ham, Fulham and ... Chelsea.

Seri has a €35m buyout but his contract expires in a year. Since he obviously isn’t interested in re-upping with the Ligue 1 club, their negotiating power may be somewhat limited. And that might make Seri attractive to Chelsea, who are inordinately fond of a bargain these days.

Chelsea might be attractive to Seri because midfield depth is a need, he’d likely get ample playing time and he’d be on top club. West Ham and Fulham could afford him if they wanted to (it’s that TV money) but would he find them as appealing a landing place? And anyway, West Ham are about to sign Jack Wilshere. Which only leaves the recently promoted Fulham.

The Cottagers have emerged as serious candidates over the weekend as Chelsea continue to drag their feet — previous rumors claimed that Seri’s been asked to wait for the Blues to resolve the managerial situation first — and as other rumors muddle the picture. One of those is the intriguing, if unlikely, late show with Jorginho, the other is that Seri’s agent has apparently denied the whole thing, including the implication of the excused absence from training camp.

Nothing’s simple for Chelsea this summer. This one won’t be either.