Exclusive: £40m Chelsea player decides who he wants to join as Everton and West Ham show interest
01/29/2025 05:15 AM
After interest from Everton and West Ham United recently, TBR Football understands that Juventus are lining up a move for Chelsea midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka.
So far at Chelsea this season, Chukwuemeka has only made five appearances under Enzo Maresca, failing to even make a Premier League squad.
That has led to interest from West Ham in Chukwuemeka along with discussions about a possible signing at Goodison Park, too.
Chukwuemeka was told before the January window that he could leave Stamford Bridge, and a number of clubs showed interest.
Initially, Chelsea wanted £40m for Chukwuemeka who arrived from Aston Villa in 2022 – the Blues were unwilling to send their midfielder out on loan.
Chelsea have changed their stance on Carney Chukwuemeka leaving on loan
That being said, TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey understands that Chelsea have now softened their stance as they have recognised that only a loan departure is realistic this month.
A host of European sides have shown interest including Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and Marseille, whilst in England, both Everton and West Ham have discussed a move for Chukwuemeka.
READ MORE: Chelsea have also asked about signing £100m striker after Arsenal make contact
Everton are actually in talks with Chelsea over replacing the injured Armando Broja with another player from Stamford Bridge, and they have indicated that they are open to Chukwuemeka, but also Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Ben Chilwell.
However, Juventus are in talks for Chukwuemeka and they hope that he can take the place of Douglas Luiz.
TBR can confirm that Juve are in talks with City over Luiz, who want to take the Brazilian on loan for the remainder of the season.
Carney Chukwuemeka prefers Juventus move
The good news for Juventus amid all these moving parts is that Chukwuemeka does favour a move to Turin at this moment, which could in turn help City to land Luiz.
In terms of City's offer for Luiz, Pep Guardiola's side are willing to include an option-to-buy in any loan deal, but don't want an obligation.
Likewise, Juventus don't want to include an obligation-to-buy in their own loan move for Chukwuemeka.
A transfer saga with a lot of moving pieces, but it seems as if a solution could be found that suits both Chelsea and City, if not Everton and West Ham.
New Hammers boss Graham Potter worked with Chukwuemeka at Chelsea in the past, but it seems as if there will be no reunion in east London for now.
