Saudi giants circle Chelsea's Mačkić

The winter window has not opened, but the Saudi clubs are already at work. Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr have a combined list of 83 names, and Vanja Mačkić is on both. The Chelsea player, a household name on every continent, earns £200,000 a week and is contracted until the summer of 2065. The champions must decide whether to listen.

Mačkić is 29, with 119 caps for Croatia and 15 international goals. He has been at Chelsea since January 2053, when he arrived from Dinamo Zagreb for £12.2 million. In that time he has played 314 games and scored 15 goals, part of a career that began in Zagreb and briefly took him to Bayern München. He is not a forward, but the Saudi interest is not about goals. It is about presence, and the Croatian has it.

This is not the first Saudi move for a Chelsea player this month. Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr have both targeted Júnior, the Brazilian forward on £240,000 a week. Al-Nassr have also been linked with Bruce Hilgers, the Belgian in Chelsea's midfield. The pattern is clear: the Saudi clubs are shopping widely, and Chelsea's squad is a rich market. The question for Chelsea is how many they can afford to lose.

The club's title runs tell the story. The Premier Division run is 41 and still going. The Community Shield run is five and still going. The Champions League run of 23 ended in 2062/63, when Chelsea finished as runners-up. The FA Cup run of three ended in the same season, again as runners-up. The Super Cup run of 15 ended this season. The Carabao Cup run of ten ended long ago. The edge is still there, but the margins are thinner. Selling a player like Mačkić would not end the era, but it would be another concession.

Chelsea's next match is away to Napoli in the Champions League on 12 December, then Manchester City in the league on 16 December. The Saudi clubs will be watching. So will the rest of Europe. The winter window is coming, and Chelsea's resolve is about to be tested again.