Chelsea linked with shock move for midfielder as Gilmour nears exit

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel will be pleased with what he has seen at Euro 2020 so far, with a number of his players performing well. 

Kai Havertz, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic have all impressed for Germany, Italy and Croatia respectively, while Tuchel will also be happy with England trio Reece James, Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount only playing three games between them.

The German will need his squad to be well rested ahead of a busy early-season schedule, with the Blues involved in the UEFA Super Cup before their defence of their Champions League title begins in October.

However, it appears that Tuchel could be looking to bolster his ranks ahead of the new season, with ESPN reporting that the West Londoners are eyeing Barcelona midfielder Miralem Pjanic.

The reports states that the Catalan giants are facing financial ruin and desperately need to cut their astronomical wage bill.

Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus are reportedly both also keen on the Bosnia and Herzegovina international, who only joined the club 12 months ago from Juve in a swap deal for Arthur Melo.

Pjanic failed to impress during his first season at Nou Camp.

Chelsea are rumoured to be close to letting young midfielder Billy Gilmour, who impressed for Scotland against England in the Euro 2020 group stages, move to Norwich City on loan for the season.

That would leave Tuchel with only three central midfielders, in the form of Jorginho, Kovacic and N’Golo Kante.

Pjanic could therefore be a shrewd signing if a price can be agreed, providing competition for places in Tuchel’s midfield pivot.

It’s claimed that the 31-year-old is joined by Philippe Coutinho, Martin Braithwaite and Samuel Umtiti on the list of players who Barca are willing to listen to offers for this summer.

The report suggests that both Chelsea and Juventus would prefer a loan move for the player, but it is not yet known whether or not Barcelona would be willing to accept one.