Stan Collymore has predicted on CaughtOffSide that Graham Potter’s Chelsea could make a bid for Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Kaoru Mitoma, a player Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have been linked with.
The former Liverpool striker has raved about Mitoma, and the pundit thinks that Chelsea could try to sign the 25-year-old Japan international winger from Premier League rivals Brighton in the summer of 2023.
Collymore believes that Chelsea could be able to bring in the winger for £30 million.
Mitoma has been linked with Chelsea’s London and Premier League rivals Arsenal.
90min reported in January that Arsenal were looking at the Japanese winger.
The Gunners eventually signed Leandro Trossard from Brighton.
The Sun have suggested that Arsenal’s interest in Mitoma is still there.
Chelsea tipped to bid for Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma
Collymore wrote: “The reason Brighton paid such a low fee for Kaoru Mitoma, around £3m, is because, in Japanese football, most agents demand their clients are only given short-term deals.
“They do it for the players who they believe have a decent resale value so they earn a nice commission and can move them on if they come to the Premier League and do well.
“As for the 25-year-old, he is highlighting how good Brighton’s setup is. He’s settled in really well and appears to have replaced Leandro Trossard seamlessly.
“Obviously, his ability is there for all to see so I’d be amazed if, come the end of the season, some of the bigger teams weren’t making offers for him.
“He isn’t going to command a huge fee. He’ll have two years left on his deal and he was bought for virtually nothing, so from a commercial point of view, even a £30m offer, which would be over a 500 per cent return on investment in just 12 months, would be too good for Brighton to turn down.
“And, as we all know, that kind of deal is something Chelsea’s new owner would lick his lips at.”
Could a transfer happen?
We do not think that Chelsea will show interest in Brighton and Hove Albion winger Kaoru Mitoma in the summer of 2023.
Yes, the Japanese star is doing well at the moment, but Chelsea already have enough attacking players.
It is unlikely that the former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners will want to bring in another winger in the summer of 2023.
It is glaringly obvious that Chelsea need to sign a number 9.
And even if Chelsea did try to sign him, we do not think that Brighton will sell Mitoma for £30 million.
The Seagulls will want much more that that.
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