Chelsea set mammoth price tag for Newcastle target Nicolas Jackson, the plans for Estevao, two academy stars to leave and what Raheem Sterling wants next with three clubs in for him

Chelsea are waiting to see how the repercussions of the race for Benjamin Sesko between Manchester United and Newcastle United will impact their own summer with Nicolas Jackson.

The two Uniteds went head-to-head for Sesko, each submitting offers for the 22-year-old RB Leipzig striker who appears closer to Old Trafford than St James’ Park. 

It is anticipated the losing party could turn to Jackson, but Chelsea insiders insist they will not let him leave on the cheap. They value Jackson highly as a 24-year-old striker who has proven he can score in the Premier League.

Sources have confirmed to Confidential they believe Jackson is worth more than the £75million offers submitted for Sesko this week – and the £79m Liverpool paid Eintracht Frankfurt for Hugo Ekitike this summer.

Time will tell how firmly Chelsea stick to their valuation with it looking increasingly likely Jackson will be sold this summer, if not to the loser in the Sesko scrap then somewhere else.

Chelsea signed Jackson from Villarreal for £32m two years ago but now he has competition at No 9 in the form of Liam Delap, with the versatile Joao Pedro also brought in this summer.

If Jackson leaves, it remains to be seen if the Blues will look to bring in another striker with Marc Guiu, 19, on the verge of joining Sunderland on a season-long loan.

Senegal striker Jackson has 30 goals in 81 games in all competitions since joining the Blues two years ago, whereas Sesko scored 39 in 87 for Leipzig in that time and Ekitike 26 in 64 for Frankfurt.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are continuing to work on signing Xavi Simons from Leipzig. The German club are already looking at potential replacements for their 22-year-old attacker, having contacted Liverpool over Harvey Elliott.

Chelsea are likely to submit a bid for Simons having done so much legwork. They know the 28-cap Netherlands international is interested in the move.

Estevao’s going nowhere

After Kendry Paez was sent on a season-long loan to Strasbourg last week, Confidential made checks on Chelsea’s plans for Estevao Willian after the wonderkid’s arrival from Palmeiras.

Sources in the 18-year-old Brazilian’s camp insist he will be staying within Enzo Maresca’s first team this season and insiders at the club have confirmed that.

Chelsea have received enquiries over Estevao, who has five caps for Brazil, from clubs hoping to snap him up on a season-long loan, but it is believed he can contribute at Stamford Bridge this season as he settles in to life in London.

As shown by the signings of Paez and Estevao, along with the likes of Aaron Anselmino and Andrey Santos, South America is an area Chelsea are scouring in their bid to find the stars of tomorrow.

Estevao impressed for Palmeiras at the Club World Cup, including against Chelsea in the quarter-finals, and is now ready to play his part in Maresca’s forward line.

It is two years since Chelsea hired Alysson Marins, the former Corinthians chief scout, to help them explore the South American market. Marins is not at home in Brazil this week, though. He is in London, having helped Chelsea secure Estevao in the first place. 

The teenager will arrive at Cobham on Monday to begin pre-season preparations with his new team-mates under Maresca.

Revealed: Chelsea academy hotshot to leave 

Chelsea are set to lose one of their most promising academy talents after Donnell McNeilly turned down a new contract.

The 19-year-old striker joined the club at Under 12s level and was routinely the top scorer in whichever age group he has represented.

But McNeilly is now exploring his options in England and Europe as he is out of contract.

Unlike others at Cobham, McNeilly never got his chance in the first team.

Terry-backed defender also set for exit 

Alfie Gilchrist is another academy graduate set to leave Chelsea, with Confidential told four Championship clubs have declared their interest in a permanent deal.

The 21-year-old right back spent last season on loan at Sheffield United in England’s second tier and has made 17 appearances for Chelsea’s first team.

John Terry previously tipped Gilchrist to follow in his footsteps. He told Confidential: ‘From the first training session in which I saw him, he reminded me of myself.

‘He was keen to learn, asking me questions about defending and constantly picking my brains over what I would do in different situations. And he’s 100 per cent in everything he does.’

Middlesbrough’s signing of Callum Brittain from Blackburn is expected to trigger a domino effect with right backs in the Championship, accelerating the exit of Gilchrist, who can also be used at centre back. Derby and Watford are among those interested at around £5m.

Three-way battle in capital for Sterling 

Raheem Sterling is training separately from Chelsea’s main group at Cobham, but there are no hard feelings between him and the club as both parties recognise the need for a clean break.

Sterling’s preference is to stay in London, though his situation is not expected to be resolved soon because clubs are likely to wait until closer to the end of the window before making their move.

West Ham, Fulham and Crystal Palace are among those monitoring him, Confidential has heard, and there are other options in Europe for Sterling to explore this month.

Chelsea stars go old-school on the gram

Chelsea’s Club World Cup stars spent some of their three-week break uploading Instagram pictures of themselves wearing old-school shirts on holiday.

Marc Cucurella, Tosin Adarabioyo and Enzo Fernandez were among them, and it represented free advertising for the Blues because they have the retro range for sale in their club shop.

Chelsea also released a limited-edition shirt on Tuesday to mark their 120th anniversary. There were 1,905 available, in a nod to the year they were founded, and despite costing a whopping £200, the website said the item was out of stock within 12 hours.

An easy way to make £381,000 if ever there was one!

FIFA silent on PSG and Enrique 

Despite Confidential badgering them, FIFA have not yet confirmed any disciplinary charges against Paris Saint-Germain for the aggro that followed the full-time whistle in last month’s Club World Cup final.

That included PSG manager Luis Enrique slapping Joao Pedro in the face amid a melee involving goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

It could be that the French champions get away with their angry reaction after missing out on the chance to become world champions.