Chelsea are planning to spend more than £50million on new signings in a desperate bid to strengthen their squad before the transfer window closes tomorrow night.
Coach Antonio Conte still hopes to sign two defenders, with a move for Fiorentina left-back Marcos Alonso the first to be completed.
The Blues are also in the hunt for a centre-half, having been frustrated in their bids for Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and AC Milan’s Alessio Romagnoli.
Chelsea have stepped up negotiations with Fiorentina over full-back Alonso, despite claims from the Italian side’s sporting director Carlos Frietas that the club have yet to receive an offer.
The Serie A side do not want to sell the 25-year-old, but Chelsea have offered £23m, which is only £1m off their valuation.
Significantly, Freitas admitted Fiorentina are looking for funds to improve the club’s financial position.
He said: “We want to defend our best players and strengthen the team, taking into account the financial balance of the club. We’d like to keep our best players and make the coach [Paulo Sousa] happy. As things stand the best are staying but the financial balance of the club must meet the balance of the squad.”
Chelsea's frustrating search for defensive reinforcements
Conte is keen to improve his options at full-back, especially after allowing Nathan Ake and Abdul Baba Rahman to leave on loan. The race for a centre-half is expected to go to the wire, though, as Chelsea continue to struggle to agree a fee with clubs for their prized assets.
Chelsea have now added Lazio defender Stefan de Vrij to the list and have made an offer in excess of £21m. De Vrij, 24, was named in the team of the World Cup two years ago but missed most of last season with a knee injury. The Dutch international is back to full fitness now and played in Lazio’s first two games of the season.
Benfica’s Victor Lindelof, who has a £25m release clause, is another contender, while Torino’s Nikola Maksimovic is looking to leave and has been considered.
Chelsea are thinking about strengthening central midfield, too, and have enquired about Inter Milan’s Marcelo Brozovic, believing they can succeed with a £25m bid for the Croatian.
Should Chelsea succeed in adding to their squad, Kenedy and Matt Miazga will probably leave on loan.
