Chelsea Transfers: William Carvalho Linked With £35 Million Deal

Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho, pictured above representing Portugal at this year's World Cup, has emerged as a £35 million transfer target for Chelsea. Having been heavily linked with Arsenal this summer and Manchester United last year, the stocky anchor man is one of the most sought after young players in Europe following numerous outstanding performances at club and international level. All three English clubs would certainly benefit from Carvalho's physical strength and strong reading of the game. Arsenal's midfield was easily overrun by the big sides last season and having someone to protect their defence would allow their creative players more freedom to express themselves in the manner Arsene Wenger desires. Manchester United frankly need all the help they can get in every area of the field except attack, while Chelsea may require a more robust companion for Nemanja Matic than Cesc Fabregas when facing more imposing opponents. The problem for Chelsea is that they already need to dispose of one foreign player to bring their squad within the Premier League quota. Even if Torres departs, the Blues would need to clear out at least one more non-homegrown player just to make room for Carvalho in their squad. There's also the question of how badly Chelsea really need him, although that's never stopped them before. Carvalho seems likely to move somewhere this summer and an English club seems a logical destination. European big spenders PSG have been shackled by Financial Fair Play rulings, Monaco owner Dmitry Rybolovlev is dialling back his spending and Real Madrid are looking to sell rather than buy. Man City's midfield is already packed, so United, Arsenal and Chelsea certainly look the frontrunners for now... unless Barcelona decide they need him now they may have to do all their shopping early. Source