Chelsea: Everton ousted in midfielder chase; former Prem hero linked; Cuadrado situation develops

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According to the Mirror, Chelsea’s next big purchase will be that of Liverpool and Everton target Axel Witsel. The two Merseyside clubs were first to enter negotiations for the Belgian midfielder, but while they have found it tough to agree a fee with Zenit St Peterburg, Chelsea are now ready to blow them out of the water with a far more substantial offer of permanent terms for the in-demand man, who is currently enjoying his holidays after being knocked out of Euro 2016.

Witsel is believed to represent a new era at Stamford Bridge as Antonio Conte builds his new squad, but will also send out a strong message to Everton, who have used their increased financial power under new ownership to target higher profile players such as Witsel, who was believed to be a key target for new boss Ronald Koeman.

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Everton will not surrender easily though, and the Mirror are already reporting that the Toffees are planning to drive up the price of Chelsea’s imminent purchase of centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly. Whilst officials close to the club do not believe that there will be any threat to the completion of the deal, it could make it a more costly one for the Blues, which is the last thing that Roman Abramovich will want to hear with both Manchester clubs and both Merseyside clubs already having completed expensive major transfers this summer.

Juan Cuadrado has also been at Chelsea to clear up his future, if the Metro is to be believed. After a torrid six-month spell on the bench at Stamford Bridge, the right winger went out on loan to Juventus, who are keen to retain the Columbian’s services next season.

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Chelsea are open to negotiations, but so far have struggled to achieve much progress with the Turin side, who want to pay £2 million to loan him next season with a £19 million option to make the deal permanent. The London club are disappointed by such an offer as they wish to at least recoup what they paid for Cuadrado, with that fee rumoured to be between £23 million and £26 million.

Matters have only become more complicated by the arrival of Antonio Conte, who frequently saw him playing for Juventus while he tracked the progress of his players for the national side. The previous Italian national team coach is believed to be reluctant to let Cuadrado go without seeing him in training, possibly because he suits the wing-back model that has been employed so successfully by the manager at Juventus and with Italy. This has all the signs of a transfer saga which could drag on through the summer.

Off the field, Spanish newspaper Sport are reporting that a former Arsenal star could be set to join Stamford Bridge as Marc Overmars is considering an offer to work with the Blues’ youth teams.

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The Dutchman was previously a player at Highbury and also spent time at Barcelona, but has just left the club of his heart, Ajax, where he was working in youth recruitment. The Ajax model has become the base of many new systems at some of the world’s biggest clubs, with the key principal to sign players whilst young, train them and develop them to suit the club’s style of play, and then sell on the best players at a substantial profit.

Sport claim that Chelsea, who have been criticised in recent years for their extensive use of the loan system for young players, gave approached Overmars with the intention of him creating a young generation of Chelsea superstars to replace the core of their currently ageing side.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Kristina Korovnikova.