Chelsea Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Arda Turan and Joao Mario
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Chelsea will continue their chase to sign Barcelona winger Arda Turan after missing out on the Turkish international last summer, per Brian Owen of Sport.
The west London club were eager to sign Turan during his final season with Atletico Madrid before he made the move to Barca for an initial €34 million, according to Owen’s report.
The Catalan club’s transfer ban forced the tricky playmaker to delay his eventual debut six months until January 2016, and he went on to make 18 league appearances, scoring on two occasions, per Soccerway.
However, unfortunately for Turan, the move has failed to prove to be a success, with Bleacher Report’s Rik Sharma describing the move as a “poor investment” in May.
An indifferent season for the midfielder has resulted in rumours linking him away from the Camp Nou. According to Owen, Chelsea came close to signing the Turk last summer, but this year Antonio Conte’s side have the financial clout to lure him to Stamford Bridge.
The Blues are reportedly willing to offer Turan the chance of first-team football—something Barca are unable to provide—which could persuade the 29-year-old to swap La Liga for the Premier League after just six months under Luis Enrique.
Elsewhere, the club are set to make a move for Sporting Lisbon’s Joao Mario per A Bola (h/t James Cambridge of the Daily Express).
The Portuguese newspaper quoted his father as saying: “Joao is hurt by Sporting. It is not normal that he is hurt but he thinks he is not sufficiently valued. Sporting say Joao is worth €60 million (£50 million) but they pay him like he’s a €10 million (£7.7 million) player!”
According to O Jogo, per Cambridge’s report, Chelsea are said to be willing to offer £34 million for the winger, who helped lead Portugal to the UEFA Euro 2016 title on Sunday.
WhoScored co-founder Cristiano Acconci claims Mario is heading to England:
The Blues have moved ahead in the race to sign the wide midfielder—who has a £50 million release clause in his contract—with the Portuguese club expected to make up the difference with add-ons.
Per Goal’s Iain Strachan, Mario had been expected to join Serie A side Inter ahead of the 2016-17 campaign, with the player’s future expected to be concluded in the coming days following the completion of the European Championship in France.
