With the January transfer window just a few days away, teams have started chalking out their plans to add to their squad and reigning Premier League champions Chelsea cannot be left out. Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is expected to bolster his squad when the transfer window reopens and has reportedly lined up a move for Red Star Belgrade striker Richmond Boakye.
Boakye, 24, has been in hot form, scoring 23 goals already this season and helping Red Star open a 9-point gap at the top of their league table and also qualify for the knockout phase of the Europa League. Conte wants to bring him to Stamford Bridge to replace the out of favour Michy Batshuayi. Batshuayi has reportedly failed to gain the trust of our manager and is no more considered in his future plans.
The Blues manager seemingly prefers to play with no recognised striker at all and deploy Eden Hazard as a false nine instead of relying on Batshuayi in case of Alvaro Morata’s unavailability. With Conte having lost faith in the Belgian, he is prepared to let go of the striker if a satisfactory offer is made for his signature.
With rumours linking the Chelsea forward with a loan move to Monaco, the Premier League champions are believed to be interested in bringing Boakye to West London as a replacement. According to Football.London, the Blues have been handed a major boost in their quest to sign Boakye, who himself admitted he would relish the opportunity to play under Conte again.
The Ghana international was signed by Conte at the age of 19 for Juventus from Genoa in 2012. Chelsea are said to have had scouts watching Boakye during Red Star’s 0-0 draw away to Arsenal in the Europa League in November.
Boakye told Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb, (h/t The Sun) in November:
“If Antonio Conte wants to sign me then I would be delighted to play for him once again. He wanted to sign me, and he brought me to Juventus. To my mind, he is a great manager, and I will always be grateful to him.
“I remember going out on loan to Elche in Spain, as there was no space for me in the Juventus first team. He rang me to give me a morale boost and remind me of my qualities. For a lad of 19 that was a real pleasure.
“There are lots of rumours about my future at the moment. But nothing is definite until I sign a contract.”
According to reports, Red Star are now considering bids from Besiktas, Rennes and Anderlecht for Boakye – ranging from £6m to £8m.
But having managed the Ghanaian earlier, Conte holds the edge over the other clubs. Snapping up a versatile attacker he’s worked with before, for a modest fee, would be a smart move by Conte to bolster his squad in January.