Chelsea send out scouts amid a potential £70m Arsenal HIJACK

Chelsea have sent out scouts to watch a talented young defender, amid what could be a potential Arsenal hijack worth £70m.

Chelsea are no strangers to interfering with Arsenal’s transfer plans. In the last year alone, they have signed Moise Caicedo, Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Felix – All three of which were closely linked with Arsenal prior to their Stamford Bridge moves.

With Mauricio Pochettino at the helm, this is only set to worsen. As a fellow young manager, he shares a lot of the same ideals and tactical wishes as Mikel Arteta. This means that the two are surely set to collide in the transfer market, not just on the pitch.

Chelsea send out scouts amid a potential £70m Arsenal HIJACK

According to a report from Record (via 90min), Chelsea recently sent out scouts, indicating they were interested in signing the 19-year-old defender Ousane Diomande from Sporting CP. The defender, who has a release clause of £70m, was of interest to Arsenal throughout the summer transfer window, with the Gunners still linked with a move.

Therefore, this could be another interesting transfer battle between Arsenal and Chelsea. While I can’t see either London club initiating the £70m release clause, which is quite hefty for an unproven centre back, I seriously wouldn’t be surprised if the Blues resort to this.

Diomande is a versatile defender, hence the interest from two of the finest tacticians in the game. In all honesty, it’s difficult to deny that he would flourish more at Arsenal than he would at Chelsea at this point in time. However, it would be nonsensical to rule out the pull factor of Mauricio Pochettino’s side, one of the biggest clubs in the world.

Meanwhile, Pochettino has received a negative update on Romeo Lavia.

Do you think Ousmane Diomande would favour the Blue or Red side of London?