Calciomercato claim that Juventus have dropped out of the race for Sevilla midfielder Steven N’Zonzi, leaving Chelsea and Manchester City to battle it out for the former Stoke midfielder. Sevilla have stated that any club must pay his full £25.5 million release clause to obtain his services in January or in the summer.
The 28-year-old has previously played in the Premier League for both Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City and is said to be considering a return to England after winning the Europa League with Sevilla last season.
The club is also reportedly preparing to allow 20-year-old midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek to leave the club on loan in January as he searches for regular first team football, which he seems unlikely to get at Stamford Bridge, but Antonio Conte wants him to stay in the Premier League, say the Daily Mail.
The youngster was linked with Newcastle but this demand may end a move to the north-east, with West Ham having also previously been linked. Loftus-Cheek emerged into the first team under Jose Mourinho but has struggled for minutes under Conte this season.
Shanghai SIPG general manager Sui Guoyang has explained that this too was the reason for Oscar’s departure to move to China as he said:
“Oscar has fallen out of favour with Conte because he has no place in Chelsea’s 3-4-3 formation. It played a key part in his desire to leave. He felt terrible to sit on the bench and not be involved. He is so young. Oscar wants to come back to the Brazil national team. Some of his compatriots play in the CSL and they still get called up to the national team. So it helped him to make the decision to move to China. And of course, the appointment of [ex-Chelsea boss] Andre Villas Boas is a plus. Oscar knows we are an ambitious club.”
The news comes as no surprise, with Oscar expected to leave regardless in January or summer, with the only real surprise being where he would move to.
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