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Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo refused to be drawn on transfer speculation when his team-mates Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella have kept the door open to moves
Chelsea are in a battle to qualify for next season's Champions League, and already questions are being raised over where their star players could be plying their trade next season. Where Moises Caicedo has outright rejected the conversation, others have been more forthcoming.
Not even 12 months on from their Club World Cup success, Liam Rosenior's side are sixth in the Premier League and six points outside of the top four. Fifth spot could offer a place into Europe's top competition, and they only trail Liverpool by a single point, but the west London side have only won one of their last five matches in the division.
Those struggles have seen questions arrive over the Chelsea project, with the club no closer to challenging for a Premier League title than when BlueCo arrived at Stamford Bridge. In turn, with Europe's giants circling, questions have been raised over how long their stars will hang around.
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With the prospect of Real Madrid circling, Caicedo drew praise from fans for not engaging in the speculation. He told El Chiringuito TV: "I'm focused on my club right now. I have a contract with my club, and I want to do well.
"I want to be a legend, God willing. And well, that's all for now."
Star full-back Marc Cucurella had a return to Barcelona put forward to him during the international break. The former Brighton ace admitted that he has considered returning, but not imminently.
Cucurella said: "You always think about going back. I'm very happy there (in London), and so is my family. I'll leave it for a few years from now."
There is further uncertainty at Stamford Bridge, however. Enzo Fernandez has refused to shut down conversation on his future on multiple occasions.
Following Chelsea's Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain, Fernandez said: “I don't know. Right now I'm focused on here, then there's the World Cup, and we'll see.”
Days later, when claiming there had been no talks with Real Madrid, he re repeated the same notion. After the World Cup, 'we'll see'.
By coincidence, Fernandez has since opened up on where he'd like to live. "I’d like to live in Spain, I really like Madrid; it reminds me of Buenos Aires," he said.
"Players live where they want. I’d live in Madrid. I get by in English, but I’d be more comfortable in Spanish."
The noise is only more likely to ramp up the nearer the summer transfer window gets. Transfer speculation is never far from Cole Palmer, and the England star has not shut down talk of a potential move, though his head coach has tried.
"There's no reason for assurance," Rosenior said earlier this year. "It's so unrealistic. It's come from nowhere. There's nothing in it. There's no reason to have the conversation. That's where I'm at."
Despite the long-term contracts Chelsea have been happy to dish out in recent seasons, without any improvement in performance or outright rejection of rumours, transfer conversations will continue to build.
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