Chelsea Transfer News: Baba Rahman Rumours Emerge, Petr Cech Stay Discussed

Chelsea have reportedly made enquires about Augsburg’s prodigious left-back Baba Rahman ahead of a potential £20 million move.

According to an exclusive piece from David Woods of the Daily Star, Jose Mourinho has spoken to Ghana boss Avram Grant about the Black Stars international. The 20-year-old has made 11 appearances for his national team and has been central to Augsburg’s excellent Bundesliga campaign, in which they finished a lofty fifth position.

Here’s how he compared to Chelsea’s current full-back options in the campaign just gone:

	Rahman	Ivanovic	Azpilicueta
Apps (Sub)	29 (2)	38	29
Assists	4	5	3
Tackles per Game	3.5	0.9	3
Interceptions per Game	2.7	0.8	2
Key Passes per Game	0.8	0.9	0.6
Dribbles per Game	1.4	0.8	0.3

Rahman is a player in the mould of the archetypal, modern-day full-back. He’s a supreme athlete, has spades of energy and when he does get forward, despite his relatively tender years, he’s showcased a level of maturity to pick out intelligent passes.

As WhoScored.com noted earlier this year, during the first half of the season, the Ghanaian was one of the best young players on the continent:

Full-back is an area of the pitch in which Chelsea could do with some replenishment, too. Mourinho only really has three orthodox options—Cesar Azpilicueta, Branislav Ivanovic and Filipe Luis—in these positions on the left and right of the defence, and although the Blues have a pretty formidable squad as it is, it’s one area of the group that could do with some additions.

Sunday Alamba/Associated Press

Spending £20 million on a player like Rahman might not be the best way to go, though. He’s undeniably talented, but he’s still a little rough around the edges, and given Mourinho’s penchant for demanding defensive cohesion, maybe a more established full-back will be drafted in.

Mourinho Hints at Petr Cech Stay

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

The general consensus heading into Chelsea’s season finale against Sunderland was that legendary goalkeeper Petr Cech may have played his last game for the Blues. But Mourinho seemed to hint that there may be a chance of him sticking around at Stamford Bridge.

Speaking with reporters after the match (h/t Tom Dutton of the London Evening Standard), the Chelsea manager hailed the influence of the 33-year-old, who featured in seven Premier League games for the Blues in their title-winning campaign:

"

He’s a legend of this club but he’s a legend at 32 years old which is a very young legend for a goalkeeper. One of our strengths this season was to have the two best goalkeepers in the Premier League.

I don’t know if we could be champions if he hadn’t played these seven matches. His contribution was decisive.

The reality is that Petr played lots of matches in every competition so we made him feel important. I can cope with it, for me it’s no problem to have both but obviously I don’t know what Petr is thinking.

"

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

As noted by Dutton’s piece, Arsenal have held a longstanding interest in the Chelsea star, who has performed admirably when stepping into the side to replace the outstanding Thibaut Courtois.

Indeed, Bleacher Report’s Gunners correspondent James McNicholas thinks that the Emirates club should make the ‘keeper their top target this summer:

Dan Levene of Get West London hailed Cech’s longstanding influence at the club:

Indeed, it’s tough to see a goalkeeper of the Chelsea man’s undeniable temperament sitting on the bench week after week, because he still obviously has a lot to offer at the very top level. The Czech Republic star is clearly an ambitious man, too, and although he’s won a title this season, being a reserve would have been galling.

As such, given how much he has given to the Blues down the years, Chelsea would not stand in the goalkeepers' way should he decide to leave. Although Mourinho would love to have him around the Bridge for another season, at this juncture it looks likely his future will be elsewhere.