Chelsea have had a sedate summer so far with the only real activity being in paying for the buy-out clause in AVB’s contract. They signed a young keeper but the decision to send him on loan instantly seemed to indicate that the move was one for the future. However their patchy wins in the warm up games seem to indicate that the team need some strengthening in order to challenge the Manchester duo for the Premier League title.
Chelsea have been pursuing Modric and have had two bids rejected for the Croatian. However Harry Redknapp has till now refrained from cashing in on a player who seems to have his heart set on a move to Chelsea. However Chelsea are also working on another player if they fail to sign Modric. Surprisingly they are ready to pay the €50million asking price while they remain defiant on the price they have quoted for Modric.
Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini claims Premier League duo Chelsea and Manchester City, plus Serie A side Roma, are battling it out to sign Javier Pastore. Zamparini has imposed a Tuesday deadline for any deal to be done for Pastore and the Italian media claim Chelsea are favourites to land the €50 million playmaker. “I cannot say who has the advantage between Chelsea, Manchester City or Roma. I can only underline that I’m interested in cash deals,” Zamparini told Gazzetta dello Sport.
Meanwhile Chelsea have agreed on a €5million fee for Barcelona starlet Oriol Romeu. Romeu is a defensive midfielder and is currently representing Spain at the U20 World Cup. AVB is supposed to be a big fan of the player who made his Barcelona senior debut at the end of last season in a goalless draw against Deportivo la Coruna. However he finds his way to the senior team blocked by the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Mascherano, Thiago and Fabregas(if the transfer goes through). His move to Chelsea also puts a question mark over the future of Obi Mikel who was supposed to be given greater responsibility since Essien’s injury layoff. However Chelsea have announced that they are yet to agree personal terms with the player himself or conduct a medical.
After watching their domestic rivals pluck out the talent needed to strengthen, Chelsea have finally showed some initiative this week and also announced their first signing in Cortuois. It looks like AVB has taken careful stock of what he has in his arsenal and is ready to replenish in order to make a fortress at Stamford Bridge once more.
Tags: Chelsea, EPL, Javier Pastore, Oriol Romeu, Premier League