Chelsea Plotting a £33m Double Deal

Chelsea are eyeing a double swoop for Sunderland centre-back Lamine Kone and Santos defensive midfielder Thiago Maia that could set them back £32m,  according to the Daily Mail.

Antonio Conte is desperately trying to bring in another central defender before the end of the summer but has so far been frustrated in his attempts to sign top target Kalidou Koulibaly.

The Senegal international has been strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge this summer after putting in some excellent displays for Napoli in Serie A over the past couple of seasons.

The Daily Mail claim that Chelsea have seen their latest £38m offer rejected by the Italians, who are unwilling to sell until they secure a replacement, so Conte is being forced to look at alternative targets with Sunderland’s Lamine Kone now on his radar.

Kone only moved to the Stadium of Light from Lorient in January but was hugely impressive during the second half of last season as the Black Cats escaped relegation form the Premier League.

However, the Blues will face stiff competition for Kone’s signature as the newspaper says that Everton have already submitted an £18m offer so Chelsea are going to have to match that bid if they want to stand a chance of signing the Ivory Coast international.

I’m sure Conte would feel confident of persuading the 27-year-old to opt for a move to West London over Merseyside if the club went up against Everton for Kone’s signature, but we’ll have to wait and see whether Chelsea decide to make a formal move.

And if they do then Kone could be part of a double swoop from Conte as the Daily Mail claim that the former Juventus coach is also eyeing a £15m move for Santos defensive midfielder Thiago Maia.

Chelsea Plotting a £33m Double Deal

Chelsea"s Playmaker Completes Permanent Loan Move

Mohamed Salah has completed a permanent move from Chelsea to Roma.

The Egyptian winger spent last season on loan at the Italian club, helping them finish third in Serie A.

 

He joined Chelsea from Basel in January 2014 but was unable to make an impact at Stamford Bridge and ended the season before last on loan at Fiorentina.

 

Salah, 24, made 13 Premier League appearances for the Blues, seven of them as a substitute. He scored two goals.

Chelsea"s Playmaker Completes Permanent Loan Move

Chelsea Reignite Interest In Belgian International with a $75m Bid

Chelsea are confident that they can complete a deal for Romelu Lukaku in the summer, having offered Everton a fee in the range of £57m ($75m).

The Blues let Lukaku leave in 2014 but are now willing to double the amount they received from Everton for the striker in a bid to alleviate their woes up front.

The Mirror reports that the Toffees are holding out for much higher with Everton unwilling to negotiate for anything less than £75m ($99m) in a window that has already seen some massive deals happen across Europe.

 

The fee, should Chelsea match it, will be slightly less than Gonzalo Higuain’s £78m ($103m) move to Juventus from Napoli. However, the report states that Chelsea have been told that Lukaku is willing to make the move to Stamford Bridge this summer.

Lukaku scored two goals for Belgium in the recently concluded European Championships in France but failed to lead his side to the semi-finals, having been beaten by Wales on their way to face Portugal. However, his tally of 18 goals and six assists is among the best in the league last season and Antonio Conte believes that with better supply he can more than better his return and lead the Blues to at least a top four spot, having finished the season in 10th position in the recently concluded campaign.

It would be another successful transfer for super-agent Mino Raiola, who has already completed the transfers of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to Manchester United and is on the verge of assisting a world record deal for Paul Pogba to Old Trafford.

 

This would be Chelsea’s second striker signing of the summer, having already completed a deal for fellow Belgian Michy Batshuayi from Marseille.

Source : IBTimes

Chelsea Reignite Interest In Belgian International with a $75m Bid

Chelsea"s Playmaker Arrives After Loan Spell

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has confirmed Juan Cuadrado has linked up with the club for pre-season training in Austria.

The winger spent last season on loan at Juventus and there had been speculation that he could return to the Italian side on a permanent basis. However, Conte appears determined to keep Cuadrado at the club and is willing to give the Colombian a chance to impress this season.

Conte told the official Chelsea website: “I am very happy because I am finding the players with the right attitude and the right behaviour.

“They are great workers and this is very important because we need to have a bit of time to go into a new idea of football, and a new method of work with different tactical, physical and mental aspects.

“It’s also important to have a bit of time for me to know the players and for the players to know me. In the Euros I had a finished team. Now we are building. In this moment it’s normal I have a bit of difficulty with this change because with Chelsea we are beginning our season.

 

“I am getting to know a lot of new players and I’m bringing them a new idea of football. We need a bit of time but I saw a lot of positive things this week.

“And then today Fabregas, Pedro, Cuadrado, Cahill and Azpi arrived.

“This is important because I need to have the complete group to work, and to transfer my ideas to all the players.”

Cuadrado struggled to make much of an initial impact after joining Chelsea from Fiorentina in February 2015, but he impressed while on loan at Juventus last season as he created 44 chances and registered an average pass accuracy of 86% in Serie A.

Chelsea"s Playmaker Arrives After Loan Spell