Chelsea are moving ever closer to signing Alex Sandro, but Juventus are not going down without a fight as they try to keep their star wingback.
July 1st was supposed to be the day on which Chelsea announced a number of new signings. Instead, all Blues fans got was Willy Caballero and a bizarre video of David Luiz with Gorillaz frontman 2D. The deal for Alex Sandro has not yet closed due to Juventus trying their best to keep him in Italy.
According to The Telegraph, Chelsea are set for further discussions on Monday as both clubs and the player look to resolve the matter.
"The future of Chelsea target Alex Sandro is expected to become clearer on Monday following a fresh round of talks regarding the Juventus left-back…Juventus are fighting to try to keep Sandro with the offer of a new contract worth £76,000-a-week to stay in Italy, but Chelsea can better that by paying him over £100,000-a-week."
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Sandro has been a prime target for Antonio Conte as he strengthens his squad. A return to the Champions League loads the Blues’ 2017/18 schedule and thus a much deeper squad is required.
Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso exceeded all expectations with their performances last season. However, they need competition to keep their motivation up and Conte needs cover for any possible injuries.
Sandro would immediately challenge for a starting spot and cause Conte a selection headache. But that’s exactly what all managers want when picking their elevens.
This transfer has been on the verge of closing for a couple of weeks now but Juventus are understandably stalling progress. Sandro was a big part of their success over the 2016/17 campaign and at the age of 26, he still has plenty to offer.
However, they cannot compete with the wages that Chelsea can put forward. Having cleared some dead wood over the last two years, the Blues have spare resources to attract star players. Juve are relying on sentiment in their bid to keep their man.
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With Sandro’s future due to be clearer after Monday, hopefully Chelsea can seal the deal soon. The Blues are hopeful of concluding negotiations for other players like Tiemoue Bakayoko as well. It’s time to get the ball rolling.