The daring Chelsea and Real Madrid swap transfer deal that would hand Enzo Maresca a wild card
Real Madrid have some of the most technically gifted players on earth but one Chelsea man could be of interest from Chelsea.
When Chelsea were the envy of the world, they were modelled after Real Madrid. In fact, some fans viewed them as the Real Madrid of English football as Roman Abramovich revolutionised everything and made them a winning machine.
The vision was simple: buy big, win now, and the future will take care of itself. The two clubs, with many things in common, have done much business together in the past. Chelsea have won some of these deals, such as when they bought Claude Makélélé - everyone thought he was past his best, but he was just getting started - or more recently when they got £100 million for Eden Hazard before injuries took the shine off his skill.
For Real, they hit the jackpot with the free transfer of Antonio Rüdiger, arguably one of the most fearsome, gifted, and tenacious centre-backs in the world today. Then there’s the Thibaut Courtois signing, which was a record for a goalkeeper at the time for around £32 million - a bargain now, after helping them win multiple Champions League titles. He’s developed into one of the best goalkeepers of all time.
Last season, Kepa Arrizabalaga moved from London to Madrid on loan when his former senior at Chelsea, Thibaut Courtois, got injured. Now, Kepa wants to return desperately. Madrid and Chelsea have always done business together.
What they haven’t done is a swap deal. So I’m thinking, if I were Todd Boehly, why not consider this, especially after signing Samu Omorodion? Swap Nicolas Jackson for Brahim Díaz. Crazy? Perhaps, but keep reading. Real Madrid had only one out-and-out striker last season on their way to winning the Spanish La Liga trophy and their 15th UEFA Champions League. That striker, Joselu, has since joined Al Gharafa in Qatar.
Nicolas Jackson could be the new striker they need on the bench, providing the team with a focal point in attack for the mobile attackers to feed on. Yes, they’ve signed Kylian Mbappé, but he’s at his devastating best coming off the left.
It wouldn’t be tactically prudent for Carlo Ancelotti to enter the season without a true number 9, especially considering how Joselu bailed him out a couple of times last season from the bench, with the most important contribution being the semi-final comeback against Bayern Munich.
Endrick is available, but he is just a 17-year-old boy moving from South America to Europe. He will need time to adapt to the change in environment. Jackson at Real Madrid would be free from the pressure of being the designated scorer at Chelsea, and he knows La Liga quite well.
In return, Chelsea could get Brahim Díaz, who can play wide right, wide left, and as a number 10 in games where Enzo Maresca might want to rest Cole Palmer. Díaz is a better winger than most of the players the Italian boss would be counting on, barring an in-form Raheem Sterling. And they know each other from their days together at Manchester City.
The Spanish-Moroccan also knows the Premier League and Maresca quite well and would view this as an opportunity to establish himself in a top team in England. Oh, he also knows Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia quite well.
Jackson has been carrying an injury, so we haven’t seen how the new boss plans to use him - but Maresca has many options now, and Christopher Nkunku is even being considered as a number nine. Díaz wasn’t a starter at Real Madrid last season, and with the arrival of Mbappé, his game time is set to reduce. So he’d likely embrace such a move. And for Jackson, well, nobody ever says no to Madrid, do they?