\n<\/p>\n
Chelsea\u2019s pursuit of Diogo Costa is gathering momentum in Portugal. There are fresh claims the Blues have moved to the front of the queue for the FC Porto captain after his outstanding World Cup.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Portugal international enhanced his reputation throughout the tournament<\/strong> with a string of impressive performances. So Portuguese reports have repeatedly linked Chelsea with the 26-year-old in recent weeks.<\/p>\n The latest update now suggests Stamford Bridge is becoming the most likely destination. This could happen if Porto are eventually forced into a sale.<\/p>\n According to Portuguese broadcaster TSF<\/strong>Chelsea have \u201ctightened their grip\u201d in the race for Diogo Costa. Now the club is most willing to invest in signing the goalkeeper.<\/p>\n The report states Chelsea had already been tracking Diogo Costa well before the World Cup. We know that could well be true<\/strong>. However, his performances for Portugal have only reinforced the club\u2019s admiration.<\/p>\n TSF add that Chelsea\u2019s interest has intensified during the tournament. The goalkeeper\u2019s displays have convinced the Premier League side to make him one of their leading priorities for the summer.<\/p>\n The report also claims new Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso is an admirer of the Porto captain, providing another reason why the London club remain determined to pursue the transfer.<\/p>\n Perhaps the most significant claim is that Chelsea are now considered the club most prepared to make a serious investment for Diogo Costa. This is despite interest from several other European heavyweights.<\/p>\n TSF reiterate that Porto do not want to lose their first-choice goalkeeper. Even so, the report acknowledges Chelsea possess the financial power<\/strong> to trigger Diogo Costa\u2019s \u20ac60m (\u00a351m) release clause.<\/p>\n Over recent weeks, Portuguese newspapers have repeatedly reported that Costa\u2019s outstanding World Cup has increased his market value. Meanwhile, Porto manager Francesco Farioli has publicly insisted he wants his captain to stay. He even joked that the club should \u201cclose the airport\u201d<\/strong> to stop him leaving.<\/p>\n At the same time, Porto have continued to insist there has been no formal offer for the goalkeeper. TSF maintain that remains the case.<\/p>\n With Portugal\u2019s World Cup campaign over, attention is naturally shifting back towards the transfer market.<\/p>\n TSF report Diogo Costa is expected to return from his holidays and begin pre-season under Francesco Farioli. However, they also believe Chelsea have no intention of abandoning their pursuit.<\/p>\n The broadcaster\u2019s suggestion that Chelsea are now the club most eager to invest marks another step in the Portuguese transfer narrative.<\/p>\n Earlier reports focused on growing interest, the goalkeeper\u2019s rising valuation and the possibility of a summer move.<\/p>\n Now, the discussion is increasingly centred on whether Chelsea will transform that admiration into a formal approach capable of testing Porto\u2019s resolve.<\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chelsea\u2019s pursuit of Diogo Costa is gathering momentum in Portugal. There are fresh claims the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Chelsea\u2019s interest reaches new level<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Porto still waiting for first move<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Focus now turns to Chelsea\u2019s next move<\/strong><\/h2>\n