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Chelsea: Arsenal battle for defender; winger snubs Blues; Costa interest
With Chelsea set to complete the signing of defender Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli in the coming days, are claiming that the Blues defensive restructure will continue as they fight Arsenal for Roma defender Kostas Manolas. The Italian club are said to be reluctant to let the Greek 24 year old go owing to current injuries, and as such have slapped a £38 million price tag on the centre back.
Antonio Conte will have spent a substantial amount of time watching Manolas whilst tracking players for the Italian national team, and Manolas would also fit the model well as a young, strong defender who fits Conte’s system and can provide a solid defensive base for years to come at Stamford Bridge. That said, £38 million for a centre back with little experience at the top level is not cheap, and Chelsea may be forced to look at alternatives after confirming the signing of N’Golo Kante for a reported £32 million, with Koulibaly’s potential fee also said to be in a similar region.
Elsewhere, Conte seems to be keen on bringing in an attacking midfielder, with the Blues boosted on this front in recent days. Madrid based newspaper have claimed that the West London club are one of three English clubs chasing Real Madrid star James Rodriguez. The Colombian’s future has long looked uncertain at the Bernabeu after failing to live up to the performances he produced during the 2014 World Cup and with a wealth of competition, and he could become Roman Abramovich’s marquee signing this summer.
are also reporting that another Chelsea target, West Ham’s Dimitri Payet, is not off the shopping list. His agent is said to have backtracked on the player’s claims earlier this week that he would definitely be staying at the Hammers. A move for the Frenchman still seems unlikely, given that West Ham have put a £100 million price tag on his head, but Chelsea are said to be leading the hunt to sign the 29 year old alongside Real Madrid.
It is almost unimaginable that Chelsea will make a move for both, meaning that whilst Payet has advantages in terms of lower wage demands and better forms, James Rodriguez may be the most likely target down to his lower transfer fee, youth and the fact that Real Madrid are likely to be much more open to selling a player who is far from the prized asset that Payet is in East London.
However, they have suffered a major blow in being rejected by Portuguese winger Joao Mario, who is said to be ready to snub Chelsea in favour of Inter Milan. The 23 year old is going to put pen to paper on a five year deal at the San Siro in the coming days according to the , with his main motivation being the guarantee of first team football.
Chelsea had hoped that their superior financial offering would ease any doubts about the opportunity for Joao Mario to further his career at the Bridge, but having seen how the likes of Juan Cuadrado have fared since moving to London, he has favoured a move to the Serie A where he is likely to start week in, week out.
There are also rumours surrounding the continually unclear future of striker Diego Costa, according to the . This comes after sources at Atletico Madrid have made clear that they remain interested in bringing the Brazilian born striker back to the Vicente Calderon next season. Having arrived in England from the Madrid club for £32 million two years ago, Costa has produced the goods but has also caught the headlines with numerous disciplinary issues, injuries and rumoured changing room bust ups.
Atletico are looking for a striker, with Jackson Martinez’s short stint ending in February with no replacement, and Luciano Vietto looking likely to leave this summer. Costa is proven in that league and enjoys a great relationship with Diego Simeone and the club’s fans, so a move back to Spain could well tempt the Spaniard if Antonio Conte is unable to tempt him of his importance for the Blues next season.
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