The cunning Chelsea and Everton summer swap transfer deal that makes perfect sense for both clubs

The dice are multi-faceted; so many faces that you can’t even begin to visualise them all, so many faces that it would give a smug DnD dungeon master a severe inferiority complex. On one die are the names of every football club you could possibly imagine, from Arsenal to PEC Zwolle. On the other, an ever-revolving cast of eligible pariahs - outcasts just waiting to be cast.

Every few days, the Elders of the Sacred Council of Gossip Columnists reverently lift these dice from the velvet pouch - the one hung from a chain around Fabrizio Romano’s beardy neck - in which they rest, and roll them across a table felted with mischievous intentions. Today, they have landed with two distinct faces angled skywards; one marked ‘Chelsea’, to the other ‘Dominic Calvert-Lewin’.

According to the Daily Mail, the Blues are ‘monitoring developments’ surrounding the Everton striker after reports emerged recently suggesting that talks over a prospective contract renewal on Merseyside have stuttered to a halt. As things stand, Calvert-Lewin’s current deal is set to expire next year, meaning that the Toffees are at risk of losing him on free transfer.

The alternative, of course, would be to sell this summer, and despite a patchy campaign that yielded just eight goals in 38 appearances, it is understood that Chelsea are, if nothing else at this fledgling stage, mulling over a possible bid. You see, the Blues are very much in the market for a new striker, and are preparing themselves in case a number of their more prominent targets, like Benjamin Sesko, dissipate into the ether.

To that end, Calvert-Lewin would perhaps be considered a gamble by some, especially in comparison to the more illustrious continental names that Chelsea are being linked with. But there is a way that they potentially snag him on the cheap, and still have the requisite funds to invest in other players besides.

In a throwaway line at the end of their report, the Mail state that the Blues will look to raise cash this summer by ‘by selling Romelu Lukaku and Armando Broja, as well as Trevoh Chalobah and Conor Gallagher’. Of that quartet, one name immediately jumps out.

Broja is in desperate need of a reset after a period of anonymity and a loan stint at Fulham that was thoroughly derailed by the sudden advent of Rodrigo Muniz. His time at Chelsea looks destined to fizzle out, and if he is to leave the club anyways, why not offer him up in part exchange as a makeweight in any prospective agreement for Calvert-Lewin?

It could be a solution that suits all parties; Chelsea get their man while offloading a player who has been deemed surplus to requirements, while Everton still receive a fee for Calvert-Lewin, as well as a ready-made replacement for the England international. The Goodison Park forward earns his move to a top six club, while Broja is given a chance to kick start his stagnating career. If the dice are to be believed, this could be one to think about.