Chelsea Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Michael Keane and Niklas Sule

Reported Chelsea target Michael Keane has insisted he is happy with life at Burnley despite interest from the Blues.

As reported by Andy Hunter of the Guardian, Chelsea have been linked with a possible January move for the Burnley centre-back worth £25 million; Leicester City are also said to have bid £15 million during the summer for the player.

But despite the admiring glances of some illustrious clubs, Keane has revealed there’s no great desire to leave Turf Moor, per Hunter:

"

It’s flattering when teams like Leicester come in but I am really happy here. The fans have been brilliant with me here, as have the manager and players. It’s great when teams like that come in but I am quite happy. I won’t be looking at Leicester in the Champions League thinking: 'That could have been me' because I tend to think what will be, will be. Hopefully at some time in the future I will get to that level anyway. 

"

Ben Hoskins/Getty Images

Keane moved to Burnley from Manchester United on a permanent deal last year, and with a regular run of games, he’s enjoyed tremendous development. His goal in the 2-0 win over Watford on Monday night was reward for a strong start to the campaign for the 23-year-old, who possesses all the tools to thrive at the top level.

Bleacher Report’s Nick Akerman is unsure whether Keane is the finished article quite yet, although he thinks the defender has plenty of potential:

For Chelsea, the defensive positions are definitely areas in which improvements are needed. Although they landed David Luiz later on in the summer window, the Blues have looked extremely shaky at the back, with Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic both in a spell of torrid form.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Manager Antonio Conte will be keen to add more options at the back, and Keane is potentially a brilliant building block. The Italian’s Juventus side had an almost impenetrable back three at their foundation, and he’ll want to fashion a similar platform at Stamford Bridge.

Hoffenheim’s Niklas Sule has also been linked to the Blues, although according to Bild (h/t Sport Witness), Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur could provide competition for the player.

Here is a look at why the German youngster is rated so highly:

According to the piece, the latter duo both had representatives watching the youngster during his team’s showdown with Schalke 04 on Sunday. Chelsea are said to have had a €30 million (£25.85 million) offer for the 21-year-old turned away during the summer.

As we can see here courtesy of WhoScored.com, despite his relatively tender years, Sule’s defending already carries an admirable authority:

Here’s a look at how he compared last season in league matches against Keane and Chelsea skipper John Terry:

	Terry	Keane	Sule
Apps (Sub)	24	44	33
Goals	1	5	0
Tackles per game	0.9	0.9	1.4
Interceptions per game	1.6	2.3	2.1
Clearances per game	3.7	4.7	6.2
Blocks per game	0.8	0.8	0.9
Aerial duels won per game	2	3.5	1.7

While Sule—a commanding and composed operator for Hoffenheim—arguably possesses a higher ceiling than Keane, if the Blues are to challenge in the upper reaches of the Premier League, then they need an immediate fix. At the moment, they’re too reliant on Terry and will be hoping David Luiz can iron out the longstanding erraticism in his game.

If the opportunity to join Chelsea were to arise for a player like Keane, it’s surely a chance he’d jump at. Although he’s a linchpin in the Burnley team, the newly promoted outfit would find it tough to turn down an offer in the region of £25 million.

Given Sule hasn’t experienced the robust nature of the Premier League, the Englishman would be more likely to make a short-term impact.