Chelsea hold ‘genuine interest’ in £31m Leeds star as senior trio face axe in ‘eight-man fire sale’

Chelsea hold a ‘genuine interest’ in Leeds star Wilfried Gnonto, who could arrive at Stamford Bridge while as many as eight players exit.

Gnonto only moved to Elland Road from Swiss side FC Zurich last summer but has impressed in his debut Premier League season, and has four goals and three assists in all competitions.

The Italy international has attracted the interest of Serie A giants AC Milan and Juventus, while .

It’s claimed Leeds want £31m for Gnonto, whom they signed for just £4m in the summer.

Which is pocket change for Chelsea, who hold a ‘genuine interest’ in the winger, according to talkSPORT.

Why exactly Chelsea want another winger given they have signed Raheem Sterling, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Noni Madueke this season, and have Christopher Nkunku arriving in the summer, isn’t entirely clear.

But then nothing much is at Chelsea these days.

What is obvious is their need to get rid of a host of players from their already huge squad which only looks set to get bigger.

Mirror is the latest publication to guess at which Chelsea players could be heading out of Stamford Bridge this summer.

Their magic number is nine, though The Daily Mail have dropped that by one to go with an ‘eight-man fire sale’ despite recycling the article, which does indeed list nine players…

Romelu Lukaku may be the point of difference, though why he couldn’t be included in said ‘fire sale’ isn’t obvious.

Getting someone to buy him may well be the issue after his second stint at Inter Milan hasn’t gone according to plan.

Hakim Ziyech and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are the near certainties to leave, while Conor Gallagher, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Christian Pulisic also look likely to head for the exit as the club tries desperately to balance its books.