Chelsea midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka is allegedly attracting interest from two more European clubs.
The 21-year-old's Blues career has essentially come to a standstill despite Enzo Maresca having previously insisted that he is a fan of the player.
Just 130 minutes have been accumulated across five appearances in the EFL Cup and Conference League this campaign, Chukwuemeka having now not earned any game time for over a month.
Although a scenario could materialise where the playmaker is kept at Stamford Bridge, there is an acknowledgement that he could benefit from regular game time elsewhere.
Last week, it was reported that the likes of Everton, West Ham United and Strasbourg - also owned by BlueCo - were all contemplating loan proposals.
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New clubs enter Chukwuemeka race
According to the Daily Mail, they have now been joined by Juventus and Porto.
Both the Italian and Portuguese giants are said to have enquired about the situation, presumably the loan conditions given the size of Chukwuemeka's release clause.
Chelsea would allegedly like to recoup that £40m in ideal circumstances, yet that is not realistic courtesy of the stop-start nature of the former Aston Villa starlet's career.
The report alleges that Chukwuemeka lacks the desire to move to Strasbourg at this stage, seemingly preferring to move to a higher-standard division if he does not remain in the Premier League.
That would essentially rule out Porto who are six points adrift of Primeira Liga leaders Sporting Lisbon and have also recently just sacked their head coach.
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Are Juventus in a strong position?
Unless Chukwuemeka links up with another Premier League club, it appears from the outside that Juventus could be in prime position to wrap up a deal.
Juventus' hierarchy have just successfully wrapped up a loan deal for fellow Chelsea player Renato Veiga, the Portugal international hoping to play at centre-back in Turin.
If Juventus are prepared to agree to similar terms with regards to Chukwuemeka, a deal could make sense for all parties, particularly if Juventus are able to facilitate a big-money sale in the process.
With Chukwuemeka possessing a contract at Stamford Bridge until 2028, Chelsea do not necessarily have to force through a sale over the coming week.
Darren Plant
