EXCL: Chelsea, Newcastle & Villa “closely monitoring” €40m star, sources confirm he can leave current club in January

January isn’t always the transfer window which delivers the biggest deals, but I’ve just had it confirmed to me that there’ll be one high-profile name worth watching out for this winter.

Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa, West Ham and Bayer Leverkusen have all been talked up as suitors for him. I’m told the interest is strong and his club could sell for the right price.

Chelsea have supposedly registered their interest in a deal for a £34.9m-rated Serie A midfielder, but they could face competition from four other clubs.

The Blues’ defensive deficiencies have been well-documented in recent weeks, as Enzo Maresca oversaw his third loss from four games in Saturday’s 3-1 Premier League defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.

However, the Club World Cup winners are also short in the middle of the park, where Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Enzo Fernandez and Andrey Santos are their only fit and available options at present.

Lavia has only just returned from injury too, while new signing Dario Essugo recently underwent a thigh operation and is not expected to return to competitive action until the start of 2026 at the earliest.

As a result, Maresca is supposedly looking to the January market for midfield additions, and according to Mark Brus on the Daily Briefing, Juventus’ Manuel Locatelli has caught Chelsea’s eye.

Chelsea ‘in five-team battle’ for £34.9m Locatelli deal

Manuel Locatelli for Juventus on December 11, 2024

The Italy international was memorably heavily linked with a move to Arsenal a few years ago, but he turned his nose up to the Premier League to sign for Juventus from Sassuolo in 2021, initially on a two-year loan,

The Old Lady eventually signed Locatelli on a permanent basis for £31.8m back in 2023, and the 27-year-old has been a club stalwart since, making 188 appearances across all competitions and registering six goals and 15 assists.

Locatelli now sports the captain’s armband for Juventus, with whom he has won one Coppa Italia and one Supercoppa Italiana, and he made five appearances for his country during their run to Euro 2020 glory.

The 6ft 1in midfielder still has three years left to run on his Juventus contract, but the report adds that bids of €40m (£34.9m) may be considered by the Old Lady, and Locatelli will not be short of interest from the Premier League or indeed elsewhere in Europe.

Aston Villa, Newcastle United and West Ham United are supposedly prepared to rival Chelsea for Locatelli’s signature, while Bayer Leverkusen are also keeping a close eye on the situation.

Locatelli to Chelsea: What would Juventus captain bring to the Blues?

Comfortable as both a number six and number eight, Locatelli has earned more plaudits for his defensive prowess than he has his attacking capabilities during his career, as well as his pass mastery.

Over the past year in Serie A alone, Locatelli has averaged 9.31 progressive passes per game, putting him inside the top 3% of all midfielders in Europe’s big five leagues as per FBref.

The midfielder’s progressing passing distance of 433.19 yards per 90 also puts him in the top 1% of midfielders in the big five divisions, while he is in the 98th percentile for passes into the final third per 90 with 10.37.