“One to watch on deadline day” – Journalist drops teasing Chelsea transfer claim on £60m star

Chelsea’s potential deal for Everton winger Anthony Gordon could ‘still be on the table’, according to journalist Simon Phillips.

The west London outfit have been actively pursuing the talented 21-year-old in recent weeks but have been frustrated in their attempts to prise him away from Goodison Park.

Sky Sports reported that Chelsea saw an opening offer worth around £40 million to £45m turned down by Everton for Gordon earlier in the month following extensive talks.

David Ornstein of The Athletic then revealed that the England Under-21 international had informed his manager Frank Lampard that he wished to depart his boyhood club and sign for Chelsea.

Gordon is believed to be eager to test himself against Champions League opposition and thinks a move to Stamford Bridge will improve his chances of making Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad.

However, Lampard stated that it is now ‘too late’ in the window to sell the creative talent following Everton’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United on Tuesday night.

“Anthony is too important a player,” said the 44-year-old tactician. “He has shown his worth in the last two games, it is too late. He is going to be special.”

Phillips believes that Everton would not accept anything less than £60m for Gordon now, while including Armando Broja in the deal could also work in Chelsea’s favour if Thomas Tuchel decides that appeals to him.

He told GiveMeSport: “He played the other night and scored a good goal, but I think the deal could still be on the table. But at the moment, Everton are not interested in doing anything less than £60 million plus.

“The only way that Chelsea could probably get that over the line now is if they decided to add Armando Broja into the deal, which Chelsea, at the moment, are not keen to do unless it’s only going to be a loan deal. So, I think it’s definitely still one to watch on deadline day for sure.”

Gordon has evidently not allowed the continued speculation surrounding his future to affect his performances, scoring crucial goals against both Brentford and Leeds to help his side secure consecutive 1-1 draws.

As per WhoScored, the hard-working ace has also averaged 3.2 shots, one key pass, and 0.6 dribbles per Premier League game so far this season, placing him in the top four amongst his teammates for each metric.

It seems as though Gordon could be a valuable asset for Tuchel to call upon, therefore, but only time will tell if Chelsea are prepared to pay his astronomical price tag.