News coming in today suggests that Chelsea are still in the race to sign Geoffrey Kondogbia, with the Inter Milan player set to leave the club in January. It is understood that Chelsea are just one of many Premier League clubs monitoring the midfielder and interested in signing him.
The 23-year-old is on Chelsea’s shortlist but the Blues will surely look to sell a number of their players who are simply not performing including Branislav Ivanovic, Cesc Fabregas and John Obi Mikel, as new boss Antonio Conte looks to clear out his squad in favour of new recruits.
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Competition from numerous clubs
It is believed that at least five Premier League clubs are monitoring the Kondogbia situation with the player not getting enough game time under previous boss Frank de Boer. New Inter boss Stefano Piolo has also said that he will do no favours to Kondogbia, who has to earn his place in the team like every other player.
Chelsea had previously been linked with Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan and more recently with PSG’s Marco Verrati, Sevilla's Stephen N'Zonzi and Fiorentina's Milan Badelj as the Blues look to strengthen their midfield with players who can compete with Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante in Chelsea’s starting eleven. It is, however, fairly certain that Chelsea are in for Marco Verrati with rumours of a £50 million plus Cesc Fabregas deal in the works.
Kondogbia though is seeking a move to the Premier League after his time in Italy at Inter Milan, as his growth and chances have somewhat reduced over this season. He is looking to revive his France career as well, with a move to the English Premier League favouring his chances of inclusion in the French national squad.
Oscar to go the other way?
Meanwhile, Inter are seeking to lure the Blues’ Brazilian midfielder Oscar away from Stamford Bridge, but it is believed that Chelsea still value and rate Oscar very highly although he has not been able to break into the starting line-up under Antonio Conte with limited appearances so far this season.
Although Marco Verrati seems like the player Antonio Conte will favourably make a move for considering the fact that the Blues boss has managed the young starlet while in charge of the Italian national side, Kondogbia cannot be ruled out either with the Blues surely looking at strengthening their midfield.
It does seem likely that Cesc Fabregas’ time in London is coming to an abrupt end with the player hardly featuring under the Italian manager. The Spaniard has publicly stated that he is totally committed to Chelsea but with age catching up and game time reducing, it is likely that he will leave within the next two transfer windows. AC Milan are also keen on adding Fabregas to their squad and only time will tell what exactly does transpire.
Chelsea are in their best form in years and will look to regain some silverware this season.
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