Chelsea Told To DOUBLE Their Opening Bid For Cucurella Replacement Who Alonso Has ‘Asked’ For
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Chelsea will need to pay upwards of €50m (£43m) for Real Madrid left-back Alvaro Carreras, according to reports in Spain.
Manager Xabi Alonso worked with the 23-year-old for six months at the Bernabeu, and Sport claim that the Spaniard has “asked” his club to explore a move for his former player.
Initial talks resulted in the Blues proposing a deal worth just €25m (£21.3m), which was not an offer that Real found acceptable.
The La Liga giants paid Benfica €50m for the defender just a year ago, and they are unwilling to make a loss.
Chelsea are now targeting a cheaper alternative
It seems that negotiations for Carreras did not progress very far, with the Blues now looking to secure the signature of another left-back recommended by Alonso – Rayo Vallecano’s Pep Chavarria.
The 28-year-old does have a €50m (£43m) release clause, which means he could potentially cost just as much as Carreras. However, his club are expected to sell the player for a fee considerably below that amount.
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Alonso wants to strengthen several key positions
As well as recruiting a replacement for Marc Cucurella, it is believed that the new Chelsea manager has asked for a new centre-back, with Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix seen as the top target.
The failed pursuit of Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka also suggests that Alonso is keen for a holding midfielder to be brought in, although one of the main candidates – Lacroix’s teammate Adam Wharton – could prove to be rather expensive.
Alejandro Garnacho is likely to be sold over the coming days. He is not training with the first team in anticipation of a potential exit. It remains to be seen whether Alonso will request a direct replacement. If he does adopt his favoured 3-4-3 system, he doesn’t necessarily need more wingers.
