A couple of weeks ago, Portuguese media outlet A Bola reported Liverpool are very close to signing Algerian international Yacine Brahimi. The report suggested that the Reds have agreed to pay his release clause of €60m, and it didn’t really make any sense simply because the player isn’t really worth the transfer fee being mentioned.
Brahimi would definitely add a new dimension to Liverpool’s attack but still isn’t a player that can get their fans excited and such claims looked like a good PR for the player, who Porto might want to sell him in the summer.
Today, according to another Portuguese newspaper O Jogo, Chelsea have entered in the race to sign Brahimi and are very close to completing a transfer for the player. However, the transfer fee mentioned, this time, is €30m, which looks far more realistic for the Porto star.
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It is reported Porto are in a financial mess and need money to comply with the financial fair play rules, so they’re willing to sell Brahimi for a knockdown fee of €30m. The Portuguese club, however, will only pocket €15m from the deal as they own only 50% of Brahimi’s economic rights.
Chelsea seem to have surpassed the likes of Liverpool, AC Milan and Wolfsburg to sign the winger and apparently the negotiations are in the ‘final stages’. The 26-year-old has 10 goals and 11 assists to his name this season in all competitions and has more than three years left in his contract.
O Jogo reckons Chelsea’s interest in Brahimi started when the Blues met Porto in the group stages of the Champions League last season, and that’s when they decided to put him on the top of their wishlist.
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O Jogo can sometimes be reliable and The player has been linked with several clubs in the last few days, with the Portuguese media reporting him being ‘very close’ to sign for quite a few teams, so it’s really difficult to say if there is anything concrete in this.
Brahimi could definitely be a good signing for most Premier League sides, as the player is lightning quick on the ball, and also can cause defenders problems with his trickery, but it remains to be seen if Antonio Conte’s team are genuinely interested in signing him.
