Chelsea Transfer News: Latest on Ashley Cole, Marcos Rojo and More

Chelsea proved last season that the margins between a season decorated in glory and one that peters out into nothingness are minimal.

Champions League semi-finalists and Premier League title chasers, but not a single winners’ medal to show for their troubles in 2013/14.

Manager Jose Mourinho, then, will be looking to make up for lost time in the upcoming campaign and will be recruiting new stars on his redemption mission to fire the Blues to silverware.

Among Mourinho’s transfer targets is full-back Marcos Rojo, who has been integral behind Argentina’s success in the World Cup in Brazil.

Thanassis Stavrakis/Associated Press

A marauding left-back with strength in a tackle to boot, Rojo has been the subject of mass transfer speculation and Metro revealed that Chelsea have opened talks with Sporting Lisbon for the 24-year-old.

The report states that Chelsea are in talks over a deal worth £15 million for Rojo’s signature, despite Liverpool and Sevilla also chasing the Argentinian.

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At just 24 years of age, Rojo would come in as the long-term replacement for Ashley Cole at Stamford Bridge, and he certainly has the ability to step up to the Premier League.

A versatile defender that can also play as a centre-back, Rojo is rivalling Lionel Messi for the nation’s player of the tournament so far and was particularly impressive in Argentina’s narrow victory over Iran, as beIN Sports remarked upon:

However, despite the reports of Chelsea closing in on his transfer, Rojo himself admitted that he’d love to join his international colleague, Messi, at Barcelona—per SPORT, via Alex Richards of the Mirror:

“Clearly I did things well in the last year in Europe, and later I will see what will happen with my future. Obviously I'd like to play for Barcelona, but I still haven't spoken to Leo [Messi] about anything to do with it.”

Transferring to Barcelona means that Rojo will have to displace the highly rated Jordi Alba in the Spanish giants’ line-up, which means that a move to West London could be better for the youngster’s career progression.

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Ashley Cole’s departure from the club means that Cesar Azpilicueta is Chelsea’s only realistic option at left-back—and even he’s a right-back by trade.

Rojo would undoubtedly be a good signing for the Blues with Cole leaving the club, and it looks as if the Englishman has found his next domestic destination.

Bogdan Maran/Associated Press

Linked with a whole host of clubs around the world, reports are emerging that Italian side Roma are winning the race to secure his services—as SkySports revealed.

Currently a free agent after his contract expired at Stamford Bridge, Cole has the world to choose from as his highly successful career enters its winter, and the Italian capital looks like being his next home.

The left-back certainly has plenty of years left in him at the highest level, though, and Roma could profit from his desire to claim more silverware—as the man himself revealed via Twitter:

Cole won just about every prize on offer during his eight-year stint at Chelsea and became one of the best left-backs in the world in the process.

What’s Chelsea’s loss now looks like being Roma’s gain, though with the Blues looking to build for the future, the signs for next season and beyond are looking promising.

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With striker Diego Costa soon to be blue, Chelsea now have a reliable out-and-out striker to call upon for goals throughout the campaign, but having a player like Rojo in their ranks will also help their cause.

Joining Mourinho and a whole host of stars in West London will be the ideal lure to draw Rojo out of the Portuguese top flight, so let’s just hope the manager’s powers of negotiation won’t fail him.