Chelsea Transfer News Roundup: Blues receive Benjamin Pavard boost; club advised to offload Gabon international, and more - January 7, 2023

Chelsea are preparing to face Manchester City in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday (January 8) at the Etihad. The two sides locked horns in the Premier League in midweek with the Cityzens winning 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Meanwhile, the London giants have received a boost in their pursuit of Benjamin Pavard. Elsewhere, former Blues forward Chris Sutton has urged the club to offload Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

On that note, here's a look at the key Chelsea transfer stories as on January 7, 2023:

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Chelsea receive Benjamin Pavard boost

Benjamin Pavard has admirers at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have received a boost in their pursuit of Benjamin Pavard. The French full-back is a target for the Blues, who're in the market for a new right-back.

The 26-year-old has been identified as a perfect candidate to compete with Reece James for a place in the starting XI. The Bayern Munich right-back recently switched agents and signed with Pini Zahavi.

In his column for Caught Offside, journalist Christian Falk said that the super agent’s close ties with the London giants could work in the latter's favour.

“Pavard changed his agent – his new agent is Pini Zahavi – and if you see Pini’s friends, there are always two clubs. One is Chelsea. When he’s talking about Chelsea he’s often talking in terms of ‘us’ and ‘we’, so he’s really close. He’s living in London, so that’s why there were many rumours in the past around Pavard and Chelsea,” wrote Falk.

The German journalist also backed the Premier League giants to win the race for Josko Gvardiol.

“Chelsea made very concrete talks in the past. On Leipzig’s end, they gave him a new contract until 2027, and they added a clause that allows him to leave in 2024. The interesting thing now is that they’ve set a benchmark of €112m (£98.9m), and they don’t want to sell him this summer,” said Falk.

He added:

“But everybody knows that Leipzig could lose him if Chelsea offer to pay €100m (£88.3m). That’s really in their mind, and they know they can’t say no for a second time if such an amount of money is on the table.”

However, Falk warned that Tottenham Hotspur are also interested in the Croatian defender.

“The Blues won’t be alone in their interest, however, with London rivals Tottenham also very interested in the Croatian for the summer,” said Falk.

Gvardiol has appeared 19 times across competitions for RB Leipzig this season, scoring once.

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Chris Sutton advises Blues to offload Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been a shadow of his former self this season.

Chris Sutton reckons Graham Potter could be tempted never to select Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in his starting XI again after another disastrous performance.

The Gabon international has struggled to get going since arriving from Barcelona last summer. His struggles on the pitch have hurt the Blues, who're languishing in tenth place in the Premier League.

Speaking to BBC after the defeat to Manchester City, Sutton slammed Aubameyang for his lack of effort and poor body language.

“I’m always wary to criticise players for lack of effort or poor body language, but Aubameyang absolutely epitomised that. I thought he was woeful and hopeless and didn’t give anywhere near enough. He looked disinterested, and I suspect Graham Potter will be thinking, ‘blimey, he is never going to play in a Chelsea jersey again under me’,” said Sutton.

Aubameyang has appeared 16 times across competitions for the north London side this season, scoring thrice and registering one assist.

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Stan Collymore names three players Chelsea should offload

Raheem Sterling has struggled for form this season at Stamford Bridge.

Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore reckons the Blues have to make a decision on the future of Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech.

Sterling moved to Stamford Bridge from Manchester City in the summer but has struggled to live up to expectations. Meanwhile, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech have also failed to impress under Graham Potter this season.

Speaking to Caught Offside, Collymore said that the three players could be surplus to requirements this summer.

“They also have big decisions to make on some players – Raheem Sterling, for example. Do they stick or twist? I don’t think he’s doing anywhere near enough to warrant having a long-term future at Stamford Bridge. The same with Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech. I think all those names will be surplus to requirements come the end of the season,” said Collymore.

Sterling has appeared 22 times across competitions for the Blues this season, registering six goals and three assists.