Didier Drogba can help Chelsea seal £26m transfer and deny Kylian Mbappe meeting

 

Chelsea icon Didier Drogba could play a telling role in Todd Boehly's summer transfer plans to get one over on Liverpool. Boehly has flexed his financial muscles in the first two transfer windows at the club since completing his £4.25 billion takeover with over £60 million spent.

The U.S billionaire is not destined to stop his spending at the end of the season with RB Leipzig star Christopher Nkunku signing a pre-contract agreement with the club, football.london understands. It's been reported that a new goalkeeper and striker are the two areas of priority ahead of the 2023/24 season.

However, that does not rule out further reinforcements elsewhere. Despite Enzo Fernandez arriving for a £106m British record fee in January, another midfielder has been eyed in Borussia Monchengladbach's Kouadio Kone.

 The France Under-21s international has caught the eye of some Europe's big clubs with his performances in Germany. Kone joined Gladbach in 2021 from Toulouse and has been linked with Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.

With two years remaining on his deal at Borussia-Park, Die Folhen could be forced to sell the midfielder in the summer. According to SportBILD (via Gladbach Live), the Bundesliga side have reduced their valuation from in excess of £39m to around £26m.

But despite strong interest from Liverpool - who are in desperate need of new midfielders - Chelsea could have the edge over their rivals.

"Manu Kane is a player every league has an eye on," the journalist Christian Falk told CaughtOffside. "Everybody knows there that there is a big chance for other clubs to get him, so that's why they've come up with this price-tag.