Agent In Talks With Chelsea & Man Utd Over Potential Deal For £68m Midfielder

The opening of the summer transfer window is now open so we’ll bring you all the latest transfer rumours and gossip from around the globe. Today, Chelsea and Man Utd are linked with Saul Niguez…

Super-agent Jorge Mendes is trying to negotiate a potential £68m deal with Chelsea and Manchester United for the signing of Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez this summer, according to the Express.

Niguez came through the Atletico youth ranks before breaking in to the first team in 2012 and he’s gone on to become a key part of Diego Simeone’s starting eleven over the past few years.

The 21-year-old enjoyed a superb campaign last season and shot to prominence after scoring a stunning solo goal during their Champions League semi final victory over Bayern Munich before putting in a solid performance during their final defeat to Real Madrid.

Understandably, Atletico were desperate to keep hold of the midfielder so they were delighted when he signed a new long-term contract that tied him to the Vicente Calderon until 2021 and saw his release clause increase to £68m [source: Express].

That was meant to end speculation that the player could leave Atletico this summer, however, the Express are citing reports coming out of Spain that claim Niguez’s agent, Jorge Mendes, is still trying to engineer a move to the Premier League.

Mendes and his company, Quality Football, still own a 40% stake in Niguez and the newspaper says he’s actively trying to secure a move for the midfielder and has supposedly held talks with Chelsea and Man Utd in recent weeks.

So far, neither club has shown the willingness to meet the Spanish international’s release clause but we’ll have to wait and see whether Atletico may be persuaded to lower their asking price should Niguez indicate he’d like to leave the club for England.

Antonio Conte has already kick-started his summer business with the signing of Michy Batshuayi but he’s expected to bring in a midfielder and Niguez would be a superb addition to the Chelsea squad if they could get a deal agreed.

READ MORE –> Chelsea transfer news | Man Utd transfer news

Jose Mourinho is set to wrap-up his fourth new signing as United manager with a deal in place to sign Henrikh Mkhitaryan but the Portuguese coach is also believed to be keen on strengthening his midfield department and Niguez could be seen as a cheaper alternative to the likes of Paul Pogba.