The future of Manchester City's midfield king Yaya Toure is up in the air once again, with Chelsea being alerted to the player's potential availability.
Yaya is currently away from England on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, but the player recently hinted his future is uncertain during an interview with CNN, as reported by Ben Jefferson of the Express:
"That's a big question [about his future] and that's an easy question as well, and you have an easy answer—we'll see. I don't know. I'm at City at the moment."
Jefferson says reports in Italy proclaim Inter Milan will make a £7 million offer for the former Barcelona player, triggering a wave of interest from Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool.
Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Inter boss and former City coach Roberto Mancini commented on the quality of Toure and called the potential transfer situation as "difficult," per Jefferson:
"I worked with Toure and think he is one of the best players in the world, but right now he is at Manchester City. It's a difficult issue now, but we'll see in future."
Yaya famously fell out with the Premier League champions back in May 2014, per Chris Bevan of BBC Sport, when his agent spoke of a lack of respect surrounding his client when City failed to correctly acknowledge the player's birthday.
He was instrumental in the Etihad club claiming their second Premier League title in three years, and despite a dip in form this term after the bizarre birthday incident, the 31-year-old remains hugely influential as a genuine goalscoring threat for City.
Alex Livesey/Getty Images
This season he has hit seven goals in 18 Premier League appearances, per WhoScored, but his ageing legs will help keep his price at a realistic level.
In other news, reports in France say Chelsea are scouting highly rated midfield talent Abdoulaye Doucoure.
The 22-year-old Rennes player has represented France at youth level and is valued at £4 million, according to Alex Harris of the Daily Star.
Claude Paris/Associated Press
Doucoure's development was halted in 2013 after suffering knee ligament damage, but he has made a full recovery and grabbed a regular starting berth for his club.
The player has previously spoken about his playing style, saying, per Harris: "I'm a deep-lying playmaker. I try to make the team more solid be helping win the ball, and then when we have the ball I look to get forward and get in to positions from where I can score goals and set them up."
And French football writer Rich Allen recently profiled the player in his recent blog and compared his skill set to that of Yaya Toure: "Indeed, similarities between Doucoure and Manchester City's Ivorian [Yaya Toure] are visible at times. Doucoure's distribution is excellent and he has developed a skill for ghosting into the opposition box unmarked."
Claude Paris/Associated Press
At such a bargain price, Doucoure is sure to attract much attention in the next few months, and if he continues to develop, he will be one of Ligue 1's most desirable players.
Chelsea could use a powerful central midfielder in their ranks who gives them something different to the destructive qualities of Nemanja Matic and the fleeting skill of Cesc Fabregas.
Toure is still very much a superb Premier League operator, but at Chelsea he would be asked to play a more defensive role.
This may not suit him—at City he has a partner to do most of the covering and screening while he is afforded licence to burst forward.
But Chelsea do miss the threat from deep once offered by Frank Lampard, and Yaya would add this element back into Mourinho's armoury.
However, with a midfield exploding with flair and beauty, it is questionable whether Toure is a good fit for this current incarnation of Chelsea.
No comments: