Crystal Palace are prepared to spend over £20m to sign midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka this summer according to reports.
Chukwuemeka joined Chelsea in 2022 from Aston Villa in a deal worth £20m, but his time at the club has been plagued by injury and he’s made just 27 appearances in two seasons.
The 20-year-old had a good pre-season under Mauricio Pochettino and had a strong start to the campaign but he got injured after scoring in the second game against West Ham which ruined his season.
Palace prepared to spend big on Chukwuemeka
Chukwuemeka’s future at Chelsea appears to be unclear and after starting their first two pre-season games against Wrexham and Celtic he hasn’t featured in any of the games since.
In fact against Inter Milan on Sunday Lesley Ugochukwu was chosen ahead of him from the bench in perhaps a clear indication that Chukwuemeka isn’t part of Enzo Maresca’s plans.
It was reported earlier this summer that Chukwuemeka had a £40m release clause in his deal, with AC Milan expressing an interest although nothing has materialised, whilst Barcelona are also reportedly interested should they enter the market for a new midfielder.
However, The Sun report that Palace would be prepared to pay over £20m for the Englishman as they look to add more reinforcements following the departure of Michael Olise.
Chukwuemeka has shown glimpses of his talent for the Blues but he’s simply not been able to stay fit and he now finds himself in a situation where it will be very difficult to get enough minutes to satisfy his needs in order to develop as a player.
The report also adds that the Eagles are interested in Trevoh Chalobah, but they only want to take the defender on loan, and make a move if Chelsea’s stance changes towards the end of the window.
