According to reports from The Daily Star this afternoon, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has shortlisted Sevilla star Yevhen Konoplyanka as a potential replacement for Eden Hazard.
The Belgium international was surprisingly linked with a shock Real Madrid move earlier this week after being benched for Chelsea’s last Premier League fixture, a 2-0 win over Aston Villa, and the tabloid claim Mourinho is already considering potential replacements.
One such winger to have reportedly caught his eye is Sevilla’s Yevhen Konoplyanka. He moved to Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan just a matter of months ago, after bagging 44 goals in 208 appearances for former club Dnipro and helping them reach the 2015 Europa League final, but the 26 year-old’s contract is known to include a €40million release clause.
Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur were both chasing the Ukraine international during the summer and The Star continue to describe him as a ‘Liverpool target’. But citing reports from Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb, they claim he’s now a top target for Chelsea next summer.
The Daily Star aren’t the only ones who think Konoplyanka is of increasing interest to the Premier League champions.
Shaktar Donetsk manager Mircea Lucescu said earlier this week; “Mourinho is interested in Yevhen Konoplyanka. I was at Ukraine versus Spain with Mourinho and he is interested in some players. Perhaps it is Yarmolenko or Teixeira, if not, then it is Konoplyanka.”