Chelsea face battle to keep key defender as Liverpool & PSG circle - but they may have a replacement lined up

It’s time for our regular round-up of the biggest transfer rumours doing the rounds in the Premier League over the last 24 hours or so, and we start at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea are apparently “braced” for a summertime battle to keep star defender Levi Colwill on the books.

According to 90min, the 20-year-old England international is attracting strong interest from both Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain, who seem to think that they can prise Colwill away as Chelsea look to balance the books by selling academy products, whose transfer fees count in full for profit and sustainability purposes.

This report, however, states that Chelsea are “adamant that they will not entertain offers” for Colwill, who has been one of the Blues’ most impressive and reliable players so far this season and earned his first caps for the national side.

The 3AM Verdict: Liverpool are hunting for a long-term replacement for both Virgil van Dijk and Joël Matip, of course, but Chelsea themselves have a void to fill when Thiago Silva leaves at the end of his contract this summer – so they certainly shouldn’t flog the former Brighton loanee if they can avoid it. It all comes down to whether they’re on a firm footing with regards to the Premier League’s financial rules or not. If they aren’t, then getting some cash from a club like Liverpool or PSG might become a necessity, but losing Colwill would be a huge blow.

Chelsea scouts on an Italian job

It isn’t all doom, gloom and outgoings at Stamford Bridge, however – HITC have a report which offers a possible insight into the players they’ll be purchasing during the next transfer window, as they suggest that Chelsea sent scouts to Naples to watch Napoli play Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

One of the players they were watching was, inevitably, Victor Osimhen, who has been linked with Chelsea ad infinitum for around a year now and who is their number one target for the number nine role next season – but apparently they were also running the rule of Barcelona centre-half Jules Koundé.

The 25-year-old has been a regular starter for Barcelona since moving to Catalonia from Sevilla back in 2022 but Barcelona’s financial situation is even more vexing than Chelsea’s, and he’s one of the club’s biggest earners with a reported weekly wage of around £220,000 – so they could easily be tempted to let him go to help balance the books. No fee is mentioned in the report.

The 3AM Verdict: Whether Colwill leaves or not, Chelsea will certainly be in the market for a centre-half and Koundé would seem to fit the bill – he’s excellent with the ball at his feet, strong in the air, quick and reads the game very well indeed. There are an awful lot of high-class centre-backs looking for a move this summer so Chelsea should be spoiled for choice, but Koundé should be close to the top of the list if the price tag is reasonable.

Three clubs showing Can-do attitude

Last up today, an interesting report from Sport Witness regarding one of Germany’s hottest prospects, 18-year-old Can Uzun. The Nürnberg striker has bagged 11 goals in 19 games over the course of the 2.Bundesliga season and got quite a few teams hot under the collar, apparently – and that includes three Premier League sides in the shape of Newcastle United, Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion.

With all of those sides batting their eyelashes at Uzun, it looks like Eintracht Frankfurt will be the first to make a move – the report suggests that they are looking to “ensure they win the race” by opening discussions as soon as possible, but nothing will be confirmed until the summer as that’s when a €10m (£8.6m) release clause apparently becomes active. Don’t be surprised to see even more Premier League clubs taking a look at that sort of price.

The 3AM Verdict: This is Uzun’s first season in senior football so his CV is very short, but he looks the part at a slightly lower level. He’s a fine finisher, has a great work ethic and his close ball control is excellent, and he’s scored plenty taking a man on, beating them and slotting the ball home. His relative lack of pace is a question mark, however, as is his all-round game – he could stand to sharpen up his passing. That said, he’s only 18 and at such a relatively small price tag he’s probably worth a punt.