Chelsea Steal March On Rivals After Opening Talks Over €19m Deal For Argentinean

The summer transfer window is now open for business and it’s expected to be a busy few weeks as managers strengthen their squads ahead of next season, so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip. Today, the race for Marcos Rojo hots up.

Chelsea have stolen a march on Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United with reports claiming the Blues have opened formal talks with Sporting Lisbon over a potential €19m deal for Marcos Rojo.

Rojo has just come off the back of an impressive season at Sporting and has continued his fine form into the World Cup where he’s started in four of Argentina’s five games en route to the semi finals.

Several top European clubs have been credited with interest in the 24-year-old with the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United all understood to be keen on luring the versatile defender to the Premier League.

Liverpool have probably been most strongly linked of the trio, with reports suggesting Brendan Rodgers was lining-up a £12m bid as he looks to bring in defensive reinforcements this summer.

However, it appears Chelsea have now jumped to the front of the queue with the Metro citing reports coming out of Portugal that claim Chelsea have now opened opened formal talks with Sporting over a €19m (£15m) deal to take the defender to Stamford Bridge.

Jose Mourinho is on the look-out for a replacement for Ashley Cole – who is expected to join Italian outfit Roma after seeing his Chelsea contract expire last month – and the newspaper suggests that the Portuguese coach has turned his attention to Rojo after being priced out of a move for Atletico Madrid’s Filipe Luis.

Rojo’s agent, Carlos Goncalves, recently admitted that it was normal for a player who plays well at a World Cup to attract interest but insists if anything happens on the transfer front, it will be announced:

“The best players are usually involved in the World Cup.

“When someone shines on a stage like that it is natural to attract attention.

“Fortunately things are going well for him.”

Goncalves added: “He is focussed on the World Cup. If anything happens, it will be well-known.

“We are in a period when the transfer market is open and speculation is normal.” Goncalves is quoted as saying by the Express

Rojo has predominantly played in the center of defence for Sporting during his time at the club but has been equally impressive at left-back for his country, so he’d be a useful addition to any squad.

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As it stands, it looks like Chelsea are in the driving seat but it remains to be seen how the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and United will react to the news that the west Londoners have opened talks over the South American. Things can change very quickly in football and a bidding war could ensue if any of the trio decide to formalise their interest too before the Blues are able to get a deal in place.