Chelsea still ‘actively working on deal’ to sign Saúl Ñíguez — report

Reports in Spain have been painting a less than optimistic picture around Saúl Ñíguez, but the Athletic’s David Ornstein claims that Chelsea are still “actively working” on this deal and that there is even some renewed “optimism all around” that we might be successful in that regard.

The deal we’re supposedly still working on is still the same as before, a loan with an option to buy, and while nothing has changed at Atlético Madrid in the last few days that would have obviously changed things in our favor — if anything, it’s changed not in our favor, with Saúl also regularly involved in the first three games of the season, starting twice — we’re apparently still trying.

If Saúl does arrive, the future of Ruben Loftus-Cheek would become rather uncertain once again as well, and with not much time left to find a solution for him for the season. While Saúl could probably be quite useful as a fourth midfielder, hopefully we’re not putting other players into untenable situations in the process.