Juventus confirm another ‘substantial’ offer from Chelsea for Alex Sandro

While it’s not 100 per cent clear if Juventus chief Beppe Marotta was referring to a brand new offer when talking to reporters at a book launch on Wednesday, or he was referring to the same “very big” offer that Juve rejected last week, the former interpretation is what all the media reports of his quotes are going with and it’s the interpretation that fits with reports from over the weekend that forecasted a club-record £55m (if not more) bid from Chelsea for Alex Sandro this week. Chelsea’s previous high offer was a few million less, around £52m (i.e. €60m).

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Unlike when talking about the “very big offer” last week, Marotta did not speak of Juve rejecting the bid this time, only about hoping that no one will leave but understanding if they do.

“A substantial offer has arrived.”

“We have no intention of selling anyone, but if a player decides to leave, as has happened in previous years, then at the end of the day he has to go, because we don’t keep anyone against their will.”

“But at the moment there are no such situations and I hope nobody will leave.”

-Beppe Marotta; source: CalcioMercato via Football Italia

The part about there being “no such situations” is a bit confusing considering that Chelsea are apparently actively bidding for Alex Sandro and, even more to the point, Dani Alves just left the club by mutual consent after deciding that he wanted to play elsewhere (probably Manchester City).

That bit aside, it sounds like Chelsea are continuing to make strides on this front, even if spending a club-record fee on a left back doesn’t immediately strike anyone as the most obvious move in the transfer market. (In fairness, that record may be short-lived if Chelsea do finalize the Lukaku deal this summer as well.)