Chelsea, Everton on alert as Inter prepare to sell €25m star to fund Vidal bid

Matias Vecino TEAMtalk

Chelsea have reportedly revived their interest in Inter Milan’s Matias Vecino after the Serie A club changed their mind about the midfielder.

The Blues had been linked with the Uruguay international in the past, given that he has fallen down the pecking order somewhat at Inter.

Vecino has started just 12 of Inter’s 23 Serie A games so far this season, leading to some speculation he could leave in January, but Inter ruled out his departure at the request of Antonio Conte.

Now, the situation has changed, as Calciomercato reveal that Vecino is still on the transfer list – and two Premier League clubs are interested in a summer move for him.

The report claims that Chelsea are joined by Everton in their interest in the 28-year-old, who Inter want to sell to a club outside of Serie A.

The Italian giants feel they can make a tidy profit on Vecino, whom they signed from Fiorentina for €24m in 2017, given that his value has now amortized at €10m.

That means that, unless they sell him for less than that amount, his sale will not be classed as a loss – and Inter CEO Giuseppe Marotta believes he can raise as much as €25m by selling Vecino.

That would give them a capital gain of €15m, which they reportedly hope to reinvest in one-time Premier League target Arturo Vidal.

The Chilean has long been admired at San Siro, and the sale of Vecino – potentially to somewhere in England – could finally give them the chance to prise him away from Barcelona.

 

 

Everton had been hopeful of signing Vecino in January, especially after Inter strengthened with the purchase of Christian Eriksen from Tottenham Hotspur, but even that wasn’t enough for Conte to risk weakening his squad depth.

As for fellow interested party Chelsea, they have already bolstered their ranks for next season with the signing of Hakim Ziyech from Ajax, with the winger set to join up with the squad in the summer – but Frank Lampard has not closed the door to further arrivals.

Read everything the Blues boss had to say about Ziyech and potential future signings here…