Chelsea in ‘new contacts’ for Zenit’s Leandro Paredes — report

The Oracle of Sarri has spoken this Sunday morning, and spoken in his usual coded way although without some sort of heat-related qualifier. So it’s unclear if we’re living in hot days or cool days, but apparently we’ve made “new contacts” for Leandro Paredes.

Whatever that may mean.

You might say this is as flimsy as a rumor gets, and you may be right. But given that previous top target Nicolò Barella seems reluctant to leave Cagliari at the moment, and that Paredes fits the idea of a Fàbregas replacement far better, AND that even Maurizio Sarri has waded into the situation by making it quite clear that he needs a proper backup for Jorginho, it would not be surprising to see this situation develop into something real.

Earlier rumors had gone as far as to claim a €30m offer from Chelsea, but apparently we’re still waiting for a response from Zenit. Maybe that’s what the “new contacts” are all about?

Or maybe, as usual, no one knows what’s actually going on as we stumble around in the smoke that may or may not be real.