Chelsea blocked Newcastle United from signing a member of Graham Potter’s first-team squad on transfer deadline day as they now view the club as a major Premier League rival.
The Blues were one of the busiest clubs on the planet in January and brought eight new players to Stamford Bridge, including British transfer record signing Enzo Fernandez.
Given the heavy spending, Chelsea were open to offers for a number of players as they looked to recoup some of the money they spent on the likes of Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk and Benoit Badiashile.
The west Londoners agreed to sell Jorginho to local rivals Chelsea and sanctioned Hakim Ziyech’s loan move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Chelsea also received multiple offers for Conor Gallagher but the 22-year-old is still at Stamford Bridge as the Blues waved away approaches from Everton, Crystal Palace, and most recently Newcastle.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe was keen to welcome Gallagher to St James’ Park but Chelsea blocked the move as they view the Magpies as a genuine rival in the Premier League, according to The Times.
Since being taken over by the Saudi Arabian-backed Public Investment Fund, Newcastle have transformed from relegation-battlers to top-four contenders.
Newcastle have only lost once in the Premier League this season and beat Southampton on Tuesday night to book their place in the EFL Cup final.
Chelsea have spent more than £500m on new signings under American businessman Todd Boehly but Graham Potter’s side are just 10th in the Premier League, 10 points behind third-placed Newcastle.
Despite the considerable gap, former Arsenal and England winger Paul Merson believes Chelsea can catch Newcastle and finish in the top-four.
He told Sky Sports last week as cited by Sports Central: ‘I don’t worry about Chelsea. I think they’ll be just fine. ‘If you look at Graham Potter’s career at Brighton, I thought they were one of the best teams in the league from box to box. ‘When he left there, they started scoring goals, so that might worry you a little bit. But I think he needs time and a pre-season, to get his players in and get them playing the way he wants to play. ‘I think Chelsea will go on a little bit of a run. He’s got to start somewhere. It’s been a bit of a nightmare situation, but they’ve brought in a lot of young players and the future does look bright.
He added: ‘I don’t think it’s fair to bring in someone to a club like that and not give him time to have a pre-season. If he’s where he is now this time next season, then there’s alarm bells. ‘They’re 10 points behind Newcastle, who are the team I think they’ve got to chase down. I think Man City, Man Utd and Arsenal will be in the top four. ‘If you beat Newcastle at home then it’s seven points. There’s a chance if they can get on a run. There’s still a lot of games – people forget we had a World Cup. We’re only on halfway now.
While Newcastle failed to secure a deal for Gallagher, they bolstered Howe’s squad in January with the £45m signing of Everton midfielder Anthony Gordon.
.
