Chelsea would need to pay €30m to sign Benfica’s Julian Weigl — report

Julian Weigl is reportedly one of Chelsea’s targets for strengthening the midfield. Thomas Tuchel knows the 25-year-old personally, having coached him for a couple seasons at Borussia Dortmund, and Chelsea have apparently already held talks with the player’s entourage to gauge the feasibility of a summer move.

Benfica are said to be happy to let him go for a good fee to help cushion the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and according to O Jogo (via Sport Witness), that good fee has been set at €30m. That is €10m more than what Benfica gave Borussia Dortmund in January 2020, 18 months ago, in a move that Weigl himself supposedly requested.

Declan Rice probably still tops Chelsea’s midfield wishlist, but Weigl could be a cheaper alternative, should Chelsea once again fail to get a deal done for our former Academy trainee. Weigl’s familiarity with Tuchel’s tactics would certainly be a bonus, even if he might come a bit too close for comfort as just another potential future deadweight on the books.