Chelsea round-up: £61million bid to be made; no offer for winger; Conte fears the sack

Add as preferred source on Google

Chelsea are set to smash the world record for the most expensive defender in history after Manchester City have already broken it twice this summer. The Times say that the Blues will submit a £61 million bid for Juventus defender Alex Sandro as they once again attempt to bring the Brazilian to Stamford Bridge.

Sandro remains the Blues’ top target to add depth and competition at left-back having missed out on the likes of Danilo and Benjamin Mendy. Whether or not they can convince Juventus to allow Sandro to leave could be a different matter, but they are clearly going to try.

However, they have not submitted a bid for Inter Milan winger Antonio Candreva. Inter boss Luciano Spalletti confirmed as much before the two teams met in a pre-season friendly, in which Inter ran out the victors in a 2-1 result. The Italian is quoted by the London Evening Standard, as responding to a question about a potential bid, by saying:

“Absolutely not. A lot of things happened during this summer in the market and this is another thing. But this is not true. We intend to keep Candreva… Even if we sell him we will need to bring in another wide player.”

That contradiction towards the end of his answer may give hope that a deal is possible for the 30-year-old. Having worked with Antonio Conte for the Italian national team, the duo could reunite in west London.

Conte clearly feels that additions are need at the club. Discussing his hopes for the season ahead, he appeared to appeal for new signings as he revealed his fear of being sacked by owner Roman Abramovich despite the success of last season. He said, as quoted by the Telegraph: