It’s transfer deadline day and Chelsea haven’t exactly been successful in their endeavours so far. Two players we’ve been after for a while now, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fernando Llorente have instead chosen to join Liverpool and Tottenham respectively, and an agreement has yet to be reached with Leicester for Danny Drinkwater.
However, there is now one player, who’s headed to London to sign for the Premier League champions today - Torino right back, Davide Zappacosta. Chelsea’s initial interest was reported a short while ago by Gazzetta dello Sport, and the deal has progressed fairly quickly with the player ready to fly to London and sign a 4-year-deal, according to Gianluca Di Marzio. The rumoured transfer fee is £23m.
#Calciomercato | #Torino, in dirittura il passaggio di #Zappacosta al #Chelsea https://t.co/RD84wGar6N
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) August 31, 2017
The 25-year-old signed for Atalanta from Serie B side Avellino in 2014, before leaving for Torino the following summer. He can play as a right-back or a right wing-back, and seems to fit Antonio Conte’s profile for a defender. He’s also made 4 appearances for the Italian national team, the most recent of which came this March, against the Netherlands.
One of best right back of Serie A last season. Born to run. Typical Conte's player. #Chelsea, this is Zappacosta #CFC #DeadlineDay
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 31, 2017
Here we are then, relatively late in the day given the amount of deals Chelsea were looking to wrap up today but better late than never! As one Costa leaves, another replaces him.