Chelsea transfer roundup- Koulibaly blow, Pedro update and more
Aug 23, 2016 at 9:11 AM
Chelsea have been trying to reconstruct under the new manager Antonio Conte after a forgettable season where they sacked their best manager ever, Jose Mourinho.
The Blues have looked active in the transfer window as they already managed to sign Batshuayi and Kante and are looking to add more players to their roster to become a dominant force yet again this season.
Here we look at all the transfer speculations and done deals around Chelsea today.
According to The Sun, Santos midfielder Gabriel Barbosa is interested in a move to Camp Nou despite being linked with Manchester United and Chelsea in the recent days.
Speaking after the gold medal match, the 19-year-old said Neymar was “a great player, and playing alongside him would truly be beautiful.”
He added that he would “return to Santos and think about what I should do.”
According to Daily Mirror, Valencia are playing hardball over Shkodran Mustafi’s transfer as they are looking to raise the funds to sign Chelsea winger Pedro.
The Spanish club have reportedly asked Arsenal to pay a massive £50million for the defender as Arsenal are very much interested in landing the German defender despite the price.
Valencia wants to use the money they acquire from Mustafi’s transfer to buy out-of-favour Chelsea winger Pedro, the report suggested.
According to Bilel Ghazi of French media outlet L’Equipe, Chelsea target Kalidou Koulibaly is set to sign a new deal at Napoli that will till tie him down till 2021 with the Italian club.
The 24-year old is one of the best defenders in Serie A last season and also arguably the best defender in Serie A outside Juventus and Chelsea have made him their top defensive target for this summer. He is considered as a potential replacement for John Terry.
Arsenal and Chelsea were given a major boost as their long-term target Stephan Lichtsteiner could leave Juventus before the transfer window shuts, according to reports in Italy.
The 32-year old is one of the best right-backs in the world but the arrival of Dani Alves from Barcelona on a free transfer meant the Swiss international needs to play second fiddle to the Brazilian. The player is currently into his last year in his contract and Juve are keen to cash him this summer.
According to Spanish media outlet AS, Real Madrid star forward James Rodriguez is set to stay at Real Madrid amid speculations of him leaving the club.
The 25-year old is linked with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Juventus in the recent days due to his situation at Santiago Bernabeu. However, Real Madrid manager Zidane is keen to keep the player for the long season ahead.