Chelsea eye ‘ambitious’ move for Newcastle player to replace star who’s now keen to join Man City

Chelsea are eyeing an ‘ambitious’ move for a Newcastle star to replace a potentially Man City-bound player who’s held talks with Enzo Maresca, according to reports.

Alonso’s first transfer window at Chelsea is shaping up to be one of the busiest in the club’s history.

Liam Delap and Marc Guiu are both expected to leave, while names like Brian Brobbey, Igor Thiago, Victor Osimhen and Ollie Watkins have all been reportedly discussed internally as potential replacements.

Enzo Fernández’s contract situation remains unresolved, with Real Madrid and Man City both circling, while Levi Colwill is fending off interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid.

The left-back position is also emerging as another major area of activity.

Marc Cucurella looks increasingly likely to leave Stamford Bridge this summer.

As we’ve already reported on, reliable journalist Simon Phillips’ sources confirmed that the 27-year-old Spain international has been set on departing since January, with a return to La Liga and a move to Manchester City both on his radar.

Alonso would prefer to keep the defender and intends to speak with him personally about his future, but Phillips notes that the new manager understands the reality of the situation — Cucurella has two years left on his contract, and if both club and player agree that a move is the best outcome, Alonso will respect that decision.

In a fresh update, the journalist now says that Enzo Maresca has personally spoken to the ex-Brighton star about joining him at City, and Cucurella is said to be keen on the idea.

If this comes to fruition, the question then becomes who replaces him.

Chelsea eye ‘ambitious’ move to replace Cucurella with Lewis Hall

And according to Phillips, via his Substack, Chelsea have identified a target with a very familiar background.

Newcastle defender Lewis Hall came through Chelsea’s own academy, and is on the club’s radar as a potential Cucurella successor.

Phillips describes any approach as “ambitious,” reflecting the difficulty of prising a first-choice defender away from a Premier League rival — but reports earlier this week suggested that Hall is eyeing a move away from St James’ Park, which could open a door that might otherwise have remained firmly shut.

Hall joined Chelsea at under-eight level and spent over a decade in the academy before making his professional debut in January 2022 against Chesterfield, becoming the youngest player to start an FA Cup tie for the club.

He made nine Premier League appearances before being loaned to Newcastle in 2023/24, where he impressed sufficiently for the Magpies to trigger a permanent deal worth around £28m last summer.

This season he has made 29 Premier League appearances and featured 10 times in the Champions League, contributing one goal and two assists from left-back while establishing himself as a regular in Eddie Howe’s starting eleven.

He has also earned four senior England caps, and was very unlucky not to be included in Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions squad for the World Cup this summer.

At 21, with four years remaining on his Newcastle contract, his value has only risen since leaving Stamford Bridge.

Whether Chelsea hold any contractual advantage — such as a sell-on clause or matching rights — is unclear, and Phillips does not reference one.

What is clear is that the move would require significant investment to pull off, and Newcastle, who are already facing the potential departures of Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Tino Livramento, would be reluctant to lose another key player without a fight.

Phillips also notes that Valentin Barco, who can operate at left-back, remains at the club and could factor into the planning.

But if Cucurella goes and Chelsea want a proven Premier League replacement who already knows the club inside out, Hall is the name on the list.