Chelsea to blow rivals away with incredible £201.5m triple Italian raid

Chelsea are reportedly planning to bring in three huge names from Serie A in a triple deal that will set the Blues back a cool £201.5million.

Frank Lampard’s side were placed under transfer embargo after breaching FIFA rules, though those sanctions were lifted ahead of the January window.

However, rather than bring anyone in then, Chelsea instead kept their powder dry though did move to sign playmaker Hakim Ziyech, who will arrive in a £33.4m deal at the end of the season from Ajax.

But now it seems Chelsea are ready to unleash their spending mite on the footballing world again with reports suggesting they have three targets, all of whom ply their trade in Serie A, in mind.

First in their sights is Bosnian midfielder Miralem Pjanic, who appears destined to leave Juventus after five years.

That’s because manager Maurizio Sarri prefers a midfield axis of Rodrigo Bentancur with Blaise Matuidi and former Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey playing alongside.

Now 29, it’s claimed the Italian side are ready to cash in on stylish playmaker Pjanic to the tune of €60m (£55m) if anyone matches their asking price.

Given his reputation, that has drawn interest from the likes of PSG, but Calciomercato claims a move to Chelsea is in his sights should the Blues secure Champions League football next season.

Pjanic, however, won’t be the biggest arrival of the summer with Chelsea also reportedly serious contenders to beat the likes of Barcelona, Man City and Man Utd to Lautaro Martinez.

The Argentine forward has a whopping €111m (£101m) exit clause in his contract and that appears to have put off his suitors, with Inter reluctant to sell for less.

It is Barcelona who have been most strongly linked with the 22-year-old with Lionel Messi keen to star alongside his countryman at the Nou Camp.

 

 

However, the LaLiga giants are hesitant over his release clause and are trying to reduce his asking price by throwing in long-standing Antonio Conte target Arturo Vidal into the mix.

Should Inter be unmoved, however, that will let Chelsea in, with the striker, according to Sport, open to the idea of moving to London, with Chelsea ready to pay ‘astronomical’ wages in a bid to blow his fellow suitors out of the water.

The Blues are also in the market for a new keeper, with the club reported on Tuesday to be keen to meet the €50m asking price AC Milan have put on the head of Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Calciomercato feels the Blues believe that would represent a decent investment with the £45.5million asking price small change compared to the £71.5m they spent to sign Kepa from Athletic Bilbao in summer 2018.

The Blues are also reported to be keeping tabs on Udinese’s Juan Musso, who is also being linked with Milan as a replacement for Donnarumma.

Whoever they land this summer, it seems the Blues supporters can look forward to an extremely active summer on the transfer front as Lampard plots to muscle Chelsea back into Premier League title contenders.