Chelsea ‘tracking’ Maxwel Cornet as last resort — report

Chelsea’s hot summer transfer days have been a bit of a damp squib so far — certainly as far as incoming arrivals are concerned for the men’s team — and while surely we will make a big (but still reasonable) signing or two as it’s been preordained in the Big Book of Football, we already have contingency plans in place should those not come to pass. Thankfully, they don’t involve Cristiano Ronaldo, or so claim The Athletic at least, in their rundown of Burnley’s summer.

Burnley are back down in the second division after suffering relegation last season, and while they could bounce straight back under new head coach Vincent Kompany, just like the last time this happened to them in 2015, their best players might not be so keen on Championship football. And it doesn’t get much better at Burnley than Maxwel Cornet, whose contract apparently has a relegation release clause of just £17.5m.

Cornet led the team in goals with nine while playing a variety of positions, including left wing, left wing-back, and striker, even while limited to less than 2000 minutes due to a couple injuries and the Africa Cup of Nations as well. The 25-year-old joined the Clarets just last summer after six seasons of first-team football at Olympique Lyonnais. He’s now “being tracked” by us, though “may only become a target if [Chelsea] miss out on other players”.

As a supposed last resort, Cornet is one of the more intriguing names potentially available in the transfer market.