Chelsea round-up: Leicester set Drinkwater price; Italian to replace Costa; Oxlade-Chamberlain demands clarified

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Chelsea are preparing a second bid for Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater worth around £25 million, but The Telegraph believe that the Foxes are holding out for £40 million. They are insistent that they want to receive the same fee that Chelsea got for Nemanja Matic when he moved to Manchester United.

That leaves a £15 million gap in valuations between the two clubs with only two weeks until the transfer window closes at the end of the month. Antonio Conte is keen to make additions and soon, but he could have to act quickly if he is to bring Drinkwater in to Stamford Bridge by meeting the asking price.

Another target is believed to be Torino striker Andrea Belotti. The Daily Star say that the Blues remain interested in the Italian international as a replacement for Diego Costa, who is set to return to London and begin training despite not having found a new club with an exit now inevitable.

The Serie A club want £80 million for Belotti, who was one of the league’s top scorers last season. Having also worked his way into the national team with his impressive form, he has clearly caught they eye of Antonio Conte and could bring goals to London. However, negotiations for the striker could be tough.

That is also proving to be the case in talks with Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as Goal report that the versatile midfielder wants to be paid at least £150,000 per week to join Chelsea. That would make him one of the club’s top earners and would represent an £85,000 per week wage rise from his current Arsenal deal.

Oxlade-Chamberlain would provide vital depth to the squad with his versatility adding cover in midfield, on the wings and at wing-back. Even with that in mind, with Arsenal reluctant to sell and Oxlade-Chamberlain’s demands so high, it could be hard to achieve a deal this summer.