Chelsea and Spurs 'leading the way' in chase for €60m English star

Updated: 9 Nov 2023 13:17 GMT
3 min read

Mauricio Pochettino, Ange Postecoglou — © ProShots

Chelsea and Tottenham are "leading the way" in the pursuit of Sporting CP star Marcus Edwards, according to Portuguese media.

The former Spurs academy product has become one of the most well-known English players abroad. After a poor, injury-riddled loan spell at Norwich, the attacker decided to try his luck in the Netherlands and then in Portugal, eventually being snapped up by Lisbon giants Sporting.

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In the Portuguese capital, Edwards has gone from strength to strength, regularly being linked with a return to the Premier League and specifically his former club. Now, it is once again claimed that the 24-year-old is being looked at by English sides after the scoring for Ruben Amorim's table-topping team at the weekend.

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Edwards has netted 18 goals and notched 20 assists in 80 games for Sporting, though he has only been on the scoresheet twice so far this season.

Chelsea, Spurs keen

Correio da Manha asserts that English clubs have "revived" their interest in Edwards after his outing at the weekend and names Tottenham and Chelsea as "leading the way" in the pursuit of the 24-year-old.

Edwards boasts a €60 million release clause in Lisbon, which seems highly unlikely to be triggered anytime soon given his lack of production this season, but it is claimed that a move is nevertheless possible.

That is because Tottenham still hold 35 per cent of his rights, which means that the north London club would only have to buy out the other 65 per cent, currently owned by Sporting.

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This still amounts to a whopping €39m but could be seen as a relatively affordable option by Ange Postecoglou and Daniel Levy to provide quality depth in the attack given that Spurs' squad is being really stretched thin this term.

As for Chelsea, given the attacking talent they already boast and the fee they would be required to shell out, it is doubtful that their interest is particularly concrete.