Alex Telles rejects new Porto contract, Chelsea linked anew — report

The left-back position will be a primary focus of Chelsea in the summer transfer window with (two?) new reinforcements almost certain to arrive. Both Emerson and Marcos Alonso have failed to impress (although Alonso has continued to perform quite well in a wing-back role), with Ben Chilwell long-touted as the front-runner to take over the starting spot. However, due to his reported exorbitant price of £80m, it’s logical to assume that the club will be exploring alternative options as well.

One name that has frequented the Chelsea rumor mill for quite a few years now is Alex Telles — with Chelsea making at least one approach back in 2014 — and he’s unsurprisingly popped up as one of those potential alternatives once again this weekend. According to A Bola, Telles has rejected a new contract offer from Porto, and not for the first time, as he seeks a new challenge in a different league (or specifically, the Premier League if we go by what the report says).

The 27 year-old former Galatasaray and Inter left back has scored a rather impressive 10 times and provided 9 assists in 38 games this season. In 181 games for Porto, Telles has scored 21 times and provided 52 assists, which are extraordinary numbers to say the least. In terms of goals, those are Marcos Alonso-level numbers.

FC Porto in recent years, have lost a host of players like Yacine Brahimi, Hector Herrera and Ivan Marcano on free deals, and they surely wouldn’t like to repeat that mistake with Telles whose contract expires in 2021. In addition, Porto’s need to balance the books means that they’ll be desperate to find a buyer for Telles in the summer and may even let him leave for less than his reported release clause of €40m.

Telles will be 28 this year, but a bit of experience may not be the worst thing to add to an extremely young Chelsea side. He has had phenomenal numbers since his move to Porto and acquiring him would solve an important problem.

Get it done!