Chelsea have been in “contact” with Liverpool about signing Joe Gomez before the transfer window shuts, according to journalist Simon Phillips.

Writing in his Substack column, Phillips said that the Blues have been in touch to find out the “financial conditions” for the deal.

Previous reports have indicated that Liverpool want around £45m for Gomez. That was his value when he was included in the Reds’ offer for Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon back at the end of June.

When the Magpies pulled out of that deal, Gomez became unsettled and there is a general feeling that he could leave Anfield ahead of the deadline next week.

Gomez was not in the Liverpool squad for the win over Ipswich

There was already a lot of speculation about the defender’s future prior to the opening-day fixture last week. In addition to Newcastle, Fulham and Aston Villa had been mentioned as potential suitors.

Talk about Gomez’s future began to ratchet up when manager Arne Slot decided against including him in the matchday squad for the 2-0 victory against Ipswich Town on Saturday.

With Virgil van Dijk, Jarell Quansah and Ibrahima Konate favoured ahead of him at centre-back, and with Conor Bradley and Kostas Tsimikas providing cover in the two fullback positions, there was no space for Gomez on the bench.

Chelsea have to sell before they buy

A move to Stamford Bridge may only happen, though, if the London club can raise some funds through player sales over the next week or so.

Trevoh Chalobah is training away from the first-team squad and the Blues are hoping to sell him for around £25m to £30m. Another centre-back (in addition to Chalobah) may also need to leave in order to free up space for Gomez.

Find out who is in Liverpool’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here