Chelsea have completed two major acquisitions this summer, getting international-calibre players to reinforce the defence and central midfield, but the job is far from done. The somewhat threadbare-looking squad needs at least a couple more signings, including a new center forward and a new wing-back, if not two.
On the latter front, there’s been a bit of bad news recently as the dream that was Alex Sandro has died a sad, if not unexpected death after Juventus rejected Chelsea’s final €70m+ offer. Alex Sandro is expected to sign his new Juventus contract shortly.
Alex Sandro is going to extend his contract with Juventus increasing from €2,8M season to €4M+add ons (closer to €6M offered by Chelsea)
— Angelo Mangiante (@angelomangiante) July 15, 2017
But there’s good news with regards to Alex Sandro’s old friend Danilo, who is looking ever more likely to end up at Chelsea this summer. In fact, according to Globo Esporte in Brazil, he’s already agreed personal terms with Chelsea, with, as has been consistently reported, Conte’s approval and blessing. He has possibly rejected Manchester City’s interest, even.
This article? https://t.co/UVy8TbH2vk - It seems that with Conte's agreement/approval, he is now waiting RM to move to Chelsea.
— Paulo Freitas (@Cynegeticus) July 15, 2017
The issue remaining and one that could still prove troublesome, is the issue of a fee with Real Madrid. Initial reports indicated that a deal at around €31m could be done for the 26-year-old, but more recent reports claim that Real Madrid are holding out for at least €35m. Globo’s report claims that Danilo has personally asked Real Madrid to lower the fee a bit to facilitate his transfer — earlier in the summer, Danilo was linked with a move to Juventus for €20m instead, for example — perhaps hoping that a change of scenery will help him repair the damage that his reputation has taken thanks to his struggles at Real Madrid since joining from FC Porto.
GLOBO:#Danilo has personally asked Real Madrid to lower their demans after agreeing with Conte. Chelsea move looks imminent now. pic.twitter.com/xSLuXGTvpP
— Seleção Brasileira (@BrazilStat) July 15, 2017