Is Chelsea target Anthony Gordon worth £60m and how would he fit in at Stamford Bridge?
This summer was always going to be an intriguing one for Chelsea as the club entered a new era under owner Todd Boehly.
Would the club continue to spend lavishly as they did when Roman Abramovich was at the helm, or would the purse strings be a little tighter moving forward?
It did not take long to find out as the west London outfit splashed out almost £150million on Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella.
Now, with just over a week of the transfer window remaining, a new target has emerged in the shape of Everton's Anthony Gordon.
The promising youngster was one of the only bright sparks for the Toffees last season as they narrowly avoided relegation, but that was only his first full campaign in the Premier League.
Yet Chelsea are reportedly willing to pay £60m to land him, which would make the 21-year-old one of the most expensive signings in the club's history.
Is he really worth that amount of money? Sportsmail has taken a look at his eye-watering price-tag, whether he could force his way into Thomas Tuchel's side, and if he is really needed at Stamford Bridge.
How much?!
Premier League clubs have already spent a combined total well in excess of £1billion this summer, as transfer fees continue to sky-rocket.
But £60m for a player who has only scored four goals in 63 games for Everton - really?
Gordon looks a fine prospect, yet for such a hefty fee, clubs would normally be expecting someone closer to being the finished article.
Instead, Gordon is still a relatively raw talent.
He has produced moments of brilliance in an Everton shirt, scoring twice against Brighton last term, and then netting the winning goal against Manchester United in April which went some way to moving Frank Lampard's side away from the bottom three.
For £60m, though, fans would surely want someone who has proven that they can deliver on a consistent basis, and Gordon has not done that yet.
Where would he fit in?
Gordon has predominantly played as a winger at Everton, and looks equally comfortable from either flank.
He has also been used more centrally in the opening weeks of the season at times by Lampard due to Everton's problems up front.
The Goodison club sold Richarlison to Tottenham earlier this summer, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin has since suffered another injury setback, leaving the team short of attacking options.
Gordon has gone through the middle to cover for Calvert-Lewin, but does not look to be a natural finisher, and has rarely looked like scoring this term.
With this in mind, Tuchel may decide to try Gordon in a deeper position where he is entrusted with creating goals rather than scoring them if he moves to west London.
Chelsea are well-stocked at left wing back as they can call upon Cucurella and Ben Chilwell, but they are heavily reliant on Reece James on the opposite side.
Club captain Cesar Azpilicueta is approaching his 33rd birthday and now looks more suited to playing on the right hand side of a back three, so Tuchel may view Gordon as a player that could compete with James to feature as a wing back.
Should Chelsea be prioritising Gordon?
The Blues are hardly short of wingers. Tuchel already has Sterling, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi to cover these positions, although the latter two have been heavily linked with moves away, and Hudson-Odoi is closing in on a loan switch to Bayer Leverkusen.
Even if Ziyech and Hudson-Odoi do move on, it seems that the wings are actually an area of strength for Chelsea.
Meanwhile, bringing in a goalscorer should be the priority.
Chelsea have scored just three goals from their three league games this season - a penalty and two goals scored by defenders.
In attack, they have looked a little disjointed, and are clearly missing someone who can regularly put the ball in the back of the net.
Is Gordon that player? The numbers would suggest not.
Meanwhile, central midfield may also be a concern for Tuchel, given the injury history of N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic in recent seasons.
Chelsea have added teenagers Carney Chukwuemeka and Cesare Casadei to their squad this summer, but could they benefit from having another senior player in the middle of the park?
Plus, there is the back line which contains Thiago Silva and Koulibaly, who are both the wrong side of 30.
They are undoubtedly high-class defenders, but are unlikely to be able to play every match.
Chelsea have turned to Leicester's Wesley Fofana, yet this deal has been dragging on and they are struggling to make a significant breakthrough, with the Foxes rejecting all their bids to date.
It appears that the spine of the team needs addressing, but Chelsea are in danger of becoming preoccupied with the fringes of the side and overlooking the positions that really need strengthening.
Would Gordon start for Chelsea?
Tuchel has gone with a front three of Mount, Sterling and Havertz for each of Chelsea's opening three league games this season.
Would Gordon start ahead of any of them? It seems unlikely at this stage of his career, despite the trio all having somewhat uninspiring starts to the season.
If Tuchel does see him as a potential wing-back, it is also hard to see Gordon getting into the team ahead of James, who is tried and tested in that position, and is now an established international.
This could leave Gordon on the fringes of the squad, and that is a difficult place to be, particularly at Chelsea.
Hudson-Odoi has failed to build on his early promise and is now on the brink of leaving, while the likes of Pulisic and Ziyech have also seen their careers stagnate as they have been unable to cement their place in the starting XI.
Gordon could suffer a similar fate if he switches Merseyside for London, with it appearing likely that he would initially be restricted to a role off the bench.
Henry
just love writing about football and playing video games, love my quiet time also. contact me @ [email protected]
