Chelsea find Jackson solution: Swap deal gives Alonso exactly what he needs

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Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

Chelsea are exploring a swap deal with Juventus for Nicolas Jackson and Andrea Cambiaso, and it could be exactly what Xabi Alonso needs.

The Blues are in the market for a replacement for Marc Cucurella, who joined Real Madrid in a surprising €60 million deal earlier this week. Although it seemed likely that the Spain international would depart, the speed at which it materialised was remarkable.

Cucurella had grown frustrated with Chelsea's lack of competitiveness in the biggest competitions, and their failure to qualify for Europe convinced him that it was better to return to Spain. Atletico Madrid were preparing a major push for the left-back, but Real Madrid beat them to the punch.

Current ETV

Andrea Cambiaso

D, M (L)

Juventus

Andrea Cambiaso

D, M (L)

Juventus

€36.3M

ETV Range

€32.7M - €40M

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Although Chelsea feel that they are still well-stocked in Cucurella's position after his departure, reports suggest that they are interested in bringing in a high-profile replacement in the shape of Juventus star Cambiaso.

The Italy international has been heavily linked with Man City over the past 18 months, but it is now Chelsea and Barcelona who are being associated with a move. The Catalan press, though, has sought to downplay Barca's interest, potentially leaving the Blues with a clear run at him.

Chelsea to swap Jackson for Cambiaso?

FootballTransfers has already explained that Cambiaso could prove to be a very shrewd acquisition for the Stamford Bridge club, with data from analytics firm SciSports suggesting that he would be an upgrade on Cucurella.

Chelsea are now seemingly converting their interest into concrete action: widespread reports in Italy suggest that the Blues have formally enquired about Cambiaso and that discussions with Juventus are ongoing.

Gazzetta dello Sport claims that during the discussions with Juve, Chelsea broached the name of Jackson, knowing full well that the Italian club are in need of a striker.

Dusan Vlahovic is out of contract, Jonathan David failed to impress in his first season and is already for sale and talks over re-signing Randal Kolo Muani have proved fruitless for the Bianconeri so far.

Chelsea, it is said, are willing to offer the Turin club a way out of their predicament by offering up Jackson, who is returning to West London after a largely unsuccessful loan spell at Bayern Munich, where he played second fiddle to Harry Kane.

The report states that signing Jackson is currently optional for Juventus. Chelsea are said to be willing to do a deal for Cambiaso without including a player, although there is currently a gap in valuation.

Juventus need to plug a €10m-€20m hole in their accounts by the end of the fiscal year on 30 June. Chelsea would be willing to make up the "capital gains" the Serie A giants require by paying €26m for Cambiaso (covering the €20m shortfall and the player's €6m wage), but this isn't enough.

Juventus obviously value the Italy international at a significantly higher price point, and they are asking for around €35m-€40m. This gap isn't insurmountable, but Chelsea are looking to sweeten the deal by including Jackson.

It is claimed that Juventus are considering it, though no final decision has been made. In fact, it is even suggested that Jackson could join the Old Lady on loan, which would be surprising.

Whatever the case, a swap deal for Jackson and Cambiaso looks sensible. Chelsea manager Alonso gets an upgrade on Cucurella and a player perfectly suited to a wing-back role (if that's how he chooses to set his team up), while Juventus get a really good, albeit flawed, striker who is surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge.