Chelsea
Chelsea could hijack Man Utd’s attempts to sign £38m star as Tuchel eyes double swoop
Chelsea could hijack Manchester United’s attempts to sign Saul Niguez as Thomas Tuchel eyes a late move for the £38m-rated Atletico Madrid midfielder.
Chelsea could hijack Manchester United’s attempts to sign Saul Niguez as Thomas Tuchel eyes a late move for the Atletico Madrid midfielder, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Niguez has been with Atletico his entire career after coming through their youth ranks as a youngster and he’s developed into one of the best all-round midfield players in La Liga since establishing himself under Diego Simeone.
The 26-year-old was a key player for Atletico last season as he made 41 appearances in all competition to help them win the La Liga title ahead of rivals Real Madrid while he’s also a regular in the Spanish national team squad.
However, Niguez’s future is in serious doubt as Atletico need to raise money from player sales to balance the books and it appears they’re willing to cash-in on Saul following the arrival of Rodrigo de Paul from Udinese earlier in the summer.
The situation has alerted clubs here in the Premier League and Fabrizio Romano claimed earlier this month that Manchester United have held talks with Niguez’s agent about a possible move to Old Trafford.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been tipped to buy another midfielder before the window closes and the Guardian reporter suggested that it would take an offer worth up to £38m [€45m] to get a deal done for Niguez.
However, it appears Man Utd may face stiff competition if they do formalise their interest in Niguez as Romano now claims that Chelsea are also eyeing a move for the Atletico Madrid star this summer.
Romano says the Blues consider Niguez as a target if they decide to buy a new midfielder before the window closes as Tuchel looks to further strengthen his European Champions before the end of the month.
According to Romano, Chelsea are also working on a deal to sign Jules Kounde from Sevilla with Tuchel hoping to add another centre-back to his squad amid reports Kurt Zouma could leave Stamford Bridge.
So it looks like Chelsea could be eyeing a late double swoop in the market with Niguez and Kounde in their sights and both players would be excellent signings if they could pull them off.
It will be interesting to see how Man Utd respond if Chelsea step-up their interest in Niguez and the Spaniard would be a superb addition for either club if they could lure him to England.
