Chelsea

Chelsea

Premier League • England

Mino Raiola ‘pushing’ Chelsea, Man City target towards transfer as reduced fee emerges

Chelsea target Matthijs de Ligt

Notorious agent Mino Raiola is reportedly pushing a Chelsea and Manchester City target to move on this year.

Raiola is in charge of some of the world’s best players, including Erling Haaland and Paul Pogba. Fellow stars Matthijs de Ligt, Gigi Donnarumma and Marco Verratti are also under his supervision.

The Dutch-Italian has caused problems for certain clubs in recent years, including Manchester United.

He has given several bombshell interviews over the future of Pogba as the midfielder’s contract winds down.

Raiola has also had some serious conversations with Borussia Dortmund as Haaland’s transfer saga goes on. The Norwegian is wanted by pretty much all of Europe’s elite clubs.

But they are not the only stars the representative is keen to secure a deal for. According to Goal, who cite Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Raiola is ‘positioning’ de Ligt to leave Juventus.

The Dutch centre-back apparently has a release clause worth €150million (£125m) which becomes active in the summer. But Juve are now willing to accept €65m (£54.1m) for the star, in a surprising turn of events.

Christensen wants same money as Rudiger with Barcelona and Bayern interested

Christensen wants same money as Rudiger with Barcelona and Bayern interested

Andreas Christensen and Chelsea have no chance of agreeing a new contract as Christensen wants the same as Antonio Rudiger is looking for

Chelsea are aiming to sign de Ligt and make him the successor to Thiago Silva. Pep Guardiola’s City are also in the race, as they want to partner de Ligt with Ruben Dias.

But it will not be easy to complete a deal, despite the 22-year-old’s reduced transfer fee. The report claims de Ligt is Xavi’s ‘dream signing’ at Barcelona.

That means the Blaugrana are preparing to enter the race for his services. They could take him to the Nou Camp in the summer, as a January deal is unlikely.

Should Juve sell for just €65m then it would see them take a €10m hit. They brought the defender in from Ajax after he helped the Dutch club to reach the Champions League semi-final in 2018-19.


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Timo Werner talks Chelsea duo’s future

Meanwhile, Werner has been speaking about the futures of Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.

Both central defenders are out of contract in June. That means they can now finalise pre-contract agreements with other clubs.

Rudiger is of interest to Bayern, PSG and Real Madrid, while Barca are trying to land Christensen.

On the pair, Werner said: “I would be happy if they stay. They can improve every team. There are still a lot of good central defenders [for other teams to buy]!”

On Germany team-mate Rudiger, the forward added: “He plays incredible. As a free agent he could choose where he goes!”

Chelsea’s next game is a Premier League clash against Tottenham on Sunday afternoon. After that, the Blues face Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup on Saturday February 5.

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