Real Madrid are looking to Serie A for their next striker, with Napoli's Victor Osimhen and Milan's Rafael Leao interesting the Spanish giants.
Osimhen, 23, arrived at Napoli after a club-record €70million transfer from Lille in 2020 and quickly adapted to life in Italy.
Leao, who is the same age, was Osimhen's team-mate at Lille back in 2019 before being pried away to Milan. He was spectacular last campaign in helping Milan to their first Serie A title since the 2010-11 season, scoring a career-high 11 league goals, and has hit form this term, too.
TOP STORY – REAL MADRID IDENTIFY OSIMHEN AND LEAO AS KEY FORWARD TARGETS
According to Calciomercato, the only thing standing between Madrid and "another nine-figure investment" in one of Serie A's leading lights is the contract of 31-year-old winger Eden Hazard.
Forbes reports Hazard is making approximately €500,000 per week, and if Madrid can find a taker for him in January, or at the end of the season, their financial flexibility will vastly improve.
Come January, Leao will have 18 months remaining on his contract, and with numerous reports that negotiations for an extension have made little progress, Milan will eventually have to entertain the likelihood of a sale.
Osimhen has an extra year on top of that, tying him to Napoli until 2025 and giving the club plenty of leverage in any potential sale.
ROUND-UP
– The Evening Standard is reporting Chelsea have held multiple meetings with 16-year-old Palmeiras prospect Endrick, who is also a target for Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. He will not be allowed to leave for Europe until he turns 18 in 2024.
– According to TeamTalk, Tottenham are looking to replace goalkeeper and club captain Hugo Lloris.
– West Ham and Leicester City are interested in 28-year-old Inter left-back Robin Gosens, per Gazzetta dello Sport.
– Sport is reporting Juventus are willing to meet the contract demands of Chelsea midfielder Jorginho, with the Italy international demanding €13.6m per year.
– Barcelona are considering a move for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, who they view as a potential replacement for Memphis Depay, according to Sport.
Palmer surpasses Zola and could be Chelsea's greatest ever with title win, says Carragher
Cole Palmer has already surpassed Gianfranco Zola's exploits with Chelsea, and could write his name in Blues history if he guides them to the Premier League title.
That was the message from Jamie Carragher after Palmer's penalty double helped Enzo Maresca's side to an enthralling 4-3 comeback victory over Tottenham on Sunday.
Palmer has now scored from all of his 12 penalty attempts in the Premier League - the most in the competition's history without ever missing, after surpassing Yaya Toure's 11 spot-kick tally for Manchester City.
The England midfielder also has 50 goal involvements (33 goals, 17 assists) in just 48 Premier League games for Chelsea, a feat bettered by only three players.
Erling Haaland for Man City (39), Andy Cole for Newcastle United (43), and Mohamed Salah for Liverpool (46) are the only trio to reach that total in fewer appearances for a club in the competition.
Carragher believes Palmer has already secured Chelsea stardom, though further glory could await for the Man City academy product.
"When you think of Chelsea's flair players like Gianfranco Zola and Eden Hazard, I think Palmer has done more in 18 months than Zola did, and Zola is one of Chelsea's greatest ever players," the former Liverpool defender said on Sky Sports.
"He's on the same level as Hazard, and that came over four or five years. If he takes Chelsea to a title then he'd go down as one of their greatest ever players if he keeps doing what he's doing. He's a special player."
Maresca's band of young talent sit just four points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool, whose game on Saturday against Everton was postponed due to inclement weather.
There was a storm of a different nature at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, however, as Chelsea fought from 2-0 down to complete a remarkable turnaround.
Enzo Fernandez and Jadon Sancho were both on target, along with Palmer's cool spot-kick heroics, highlighting the plethora of quality on offer to Maresca.
Carragher refuses to accept the Blues' early success as a rags-to-riches story, though.
"This Chelsea team is no underdog story," the former Liverpool defender added. "This is a team that has spent £1.2billion, but what they're doing this season is something totally unexpected.
"This club are right in the mix for a title challenge."
Palmer surpasses Zola and could be Chelsea's greatest ever with title, says Carragher
Cole Palmer has already surpassed Gianfranco Zola's exploits with Chelsea, and could write his name in Blues history if he guides them to the Premier League title.
That was the message from Jamie Carragher after Palmer's penalty double helped Enzo Maresca's side to an enthralling 4-3 comeback victory over Tottenham on Sunday.
Palmer has now scored from all of his 12 penalty attempts in the Premier League - the most in the competition's history without ever missing, after surpassing Yaya Toure's 11 spot-kick tally for Manchester City.
The England midfielder also has 50 goal involvements (33 goals, 17 assists) in just 48 Premier League games for Chelsea, a feat bettered by only three players.
Erling Haaland for Man City (39), Andy Cole for Newcastle United (43), and Mohamed Salah for Liverpool (46) are the only trio to reach that total in fewer appearances for a club in the competition.
Carragher believes Palmer has already secured Chelsea stardom, though further glory could await for the Man City academy product.
"When you think of Chelsea's flair players like Gianfranco Zola and Eden Hazard, I think Palmer has done more in 18 months than Zola did, and Zola is one of Chelsea's greatest ever players," the former Liverpool defender said on Sky Sports.
"He's on the same level as Hazard, and that came over four or five years. If he takes Chelsea to a title then he'd go down as one of their greatest ever players if he keeps doing what he's doing. He's a special player."
Maresca's band of young talent sit just four points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool, whose game on Saturday against Everton was postponed due to inclement weather.
There was a storm of a different nature at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, however, as Chelsea fought from 2-0 down to complete a remarkable turnaround.
Enzo Fernandez and Jadon Sancho were both on target, along with Palmer's cool spot-kick heroics, highlighting the plethora of quality on offer to Maresca.
Carragher refuses to accept the Blues' early success as a rags-to-riches story, though.
"This Chelsea team is no underdog story," the former Liverpool defender added. "This is a team that has spent £1.2billion, but what they're doing this season is something totally unexpected.
"This club are right in the mix for a title challenge."
Maresca will not let Chelsea 'slow down' after reaffirming title credentials
Enzo Maresca will not let his Chelsea players get complacent after a chaotic 4-3 victory over Tottenham moved them within touching distance of the Premier League summit.
Cole Palmer's second-half penalty double, scored either side of Enzo Fernandez's lashing finish, sealed a remarkable turnaround at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Chelsea trailed 2-0 after just 11 minutes as Marc Cucurella's pair of errors allowed Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski to score, before Jadon Sancho reduced the arrears with a fine finish.
A battling comeback victory saw Chelsea move within four points of Liverpool, whose game with Everton was postponed due to inclement weather, and Maresca insists his side will not relent.
"The plan or the idea is to not let the players slow down. They can not drop because they know another player is waiting to come in," the Chelsea boss told Sky Sports.
"Arsenal, City and Liverpool probably don't slide - like Cucurella did! To be serious, we are not ready, we are far from these teams but we focus on day-by-day and trying to improve the team."
Maresca continued to reiterate Chelsea are not yet in the title race, despite leapfrogging Arsenal and increasing the pressure on Arne Slot's Reds.
However, the Blues are firmly in contention heading into a decisive festive period, thanks to the brilliance of Palmer and Maresca's selection of young talent.
Palmer now has 50 goal involvements (33 goals, 17 assists) in 48 Premier League games for Chelsea, a tally bettered by only three players in the competition's history.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland (39), Andy Cole for Newcastle United (43), and Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah (46) have ever reached 50 in fewer league games for a club.
Maresca acknowledged the special talent he has in Palmer, who has converted all 12 penalties taken in the Premier League, the most in the competition's history without ever missing (Yaya Toure is next on 11).
"I know Cole from a long time ago and I always trust him in every aspect," Maresca said of his star talisman. "He is a fantastic guy.
"He is learning how to play games when he is marked man-to-man, [Yves] Bissouma was with him all the game. He is learning, improving and scoring goals. That makes him happy and makes us happy."
Bissouma was at fault for the first penalty, hauling down the onrushing Moises Caicedo, who was earlier fortunate to avoid a red card after a VAR review for a high lunge on Pape Sarr in the first half.
Sarr then felled Palmer for the second spot-kick, which he coolly dinked down the middle, and created breathing room for Chelsea that was needed thanks to Son Heung-min's late consolation goal.
It would have been more straightforward for the visitors if not for the slips from Cucurella, though Maresca saw the humorous of those errors after another impressive comeback.
"He said to me after the game that he was trying to bring emotion to the game," Maresca joked. "It's more a question for Marc [on his boots].
"They are mature enough to decide what boots they need for the game."
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