Blues ‘close to reaching an agreement’ for eighth signing after Alonso demand
Chelsea are closing in on the signing of Bayer Leverkusen winger Kerim Alajbegovic in their eighth deal of the summer, according to reports.
The Blues finished tenth in the Premier League last season as both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior were sacked during a turbulent campaign.
Without European football next season, there had been worries that Chelsea would struggle to hold onto some of their best players this summer.
So far, only Marc Cucurella has left in a €60m move to Real Madrid with players like Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro believed to be untouchable this summer.
Chelsea are having no problem bringing players in with Geovany Quenda, Denner, Dastan Satpaev, Emmanuel Emegha, Marco Palestra and Morgan Rogers all joining this summer.
And now Chelsea are closing in on their seventh signing of the summer with Romano revealing yesterday that a deal for Crystal Palace centre-back Maxence Lacroix is close.
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The Frenchman was set to have his medical at Chelsea on Friday before his official announcement in the coming days and the Blues are looking to bring in another player soon after.
German publication Bild (via Sport Witness) insists that Chelsea are ‘close to reaching an agreement’ with Bayer Leverkusen to sign Bosnian winger Alajbegovic.
It is a signing that new Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso had ‘requested’ from the board with the west London club ‘offering €40m, most likely with bonuses’.
Italian giants Juventus are still in the race to sign Alajbegovic as Chelsea don’t yet have an agreement over personal terms with the 18-year-old.
New Chelsea boss Alonso key to the Alajbegovic signing
Another German publication, Kickerhave claimed that Alonso ‘has tried to entice’ the youngster to join the Blues but the Leverkusen talent has ‘not yet entered negotiations’ with Chelsea.
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It is understood that three Serie A sides ‘remain in the running’ and that ‘if Juventus make a concrete offer, the situation could still change’.
The report adds: ‘It is unlikely that the player will train with the team. Firstly, because he will likely need to be individually integrated into the training schedule of his teammates, who have been training for the past two weeks. Secondly, to avoid risking injury shortly before such a transfer.’
Despite no current breakthrough, it is ‘widely expected that Alajbegovic will reach an agreement with the English club’ ahead of a potential summer transfer.
It seems clear Alonso could be key to him joining Chelsea with the report continuing: ‘A key factor in this is former Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso, who has been working for Chelsea since this summer and outlined to Alajbegovic in a personal conversation the sporting path he intends to follow to develop the 18-year-old into a top star.’
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