Chelsea have been appointed amongst the bookies’ favourites to sign another Belgium international in the January transfer window, in the form of Atletico Madrid winger Yannick Carrasco.
The 24-year-old has reportedly fallen out of favour with Los Rojiblancos coach Diego Simeone following a number of high-profile bust-ups with teammates and club personnel over the past 12 months, and has struggled for game time in recent weeks.
AS reports that Simeone has green-lighted a January sale for the former Monaco man after becoming increasingly frustrated with his off-field antics, with the club expected to offload a further two players when the transfer window reopens next month. It is believed Atletico are looking to entirely overhaul their first-team squad following an abject Champions League campaign this term, in which the 2016 runners-up were eliminated without managing to make it out of the group stages.
While Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich have previously been linked with Carrasco and are thought to be tabling a bid, Chelsea are also believed to have the 24-year-old back in their sights after originally attempting to engineer a deal last summer. The 24-year-old has scored five times in 22 appearances for his national side, and could be tempted by the opportunity to link up with international teammates Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois at the Bridge.
With Carrasco now close to match fitness after rehabbing a knee injury, he may well find his immediate future lies away from the Wanda Metropolitano. Antonio Conte has made no secret of his desire to strengthen Chelsea’s “thin” squad to kickstart his side’s 2018, but Carrasco will be looking for the assurance of regular starts if he is to even consider the switch to West London.
