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Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is making major changes to his Premier League champions this summer and a wealth of significant departures could occur in the coming weeks.
The Blues missed out on the services of striker Romelu Lukaku, who sealed a move from Everton to Manchester United, but have added Willy Caballero and Antonio Rudiger to their ranks ahead of a Premier League title defence.
Conte is still focused on getting further deals done, as he eyes a new striker and a midfielder, and his transfer kitty is likely to be bolstered by a sale of Diego Costa, who has been informed he’s surplus to requirements.
Atletico Madrid, despite their transfer ban that would leave any signings unable to feature until the new year, are keen to bring the striker back to the Spanish capital and The Guardian indicates Diego Simeone’s side are growing increasingly desperate.
That’s left Chelsea confident their asking-price of £30m will be met, with Atletico’s transfer plans falling apart.
What’s happened with Atletico?
Things started relatively positive for Atletico Madrid as they retained the services of Antoine Griezmann amidst interest from Manchester United, securing the Frenchman to a new contract, but their transfer ban was upheld- casting major problems for the club’s recruitment drive.
Initial agreements were in place to sign Alexandre Lacazette, Vitolo, Diego Costa and Sandro before their ban was confirmed to still be going ahead. Since then, Lacazette has joined Arsenal, Sandro has joined Everton and Vitolo is set to sign a new deal with Sevilla.
Simeone’s frustration means that Atletico don’t really have a strong bargaining position when it comes to negotiations with Chelsea and will probably have to pay whatever the Blues desire, although a £30m fee wouldn’t be the end of the world for the Spaniards.
