Chelsea join race to sign €60 million-rated Manchester United target: Reports

Chelsea have joined fellow Premier League team Manchester United in the race to sign young Italian defender Giorgio Scalvini from Serie A side Atalanta at the end of the season, as per Fichajes.

The 20-year-old defender is a product of Atalanta's academy and graduated to the senior team in the 2021-22 season. The youngster has since made 80 appearances for them across two and a half seasons.

This season, he has helped keep ten clean sheets for Atalanta in 25 games in all competitions. His impressive displays have powered Atalanta to 4th in the Serie A table and into the Europa League Round of 16.

Manchester United had reportedly made an inquiry about his value and were informed that a bid in the range of €60 million could be accepted by the Bergamo-based side.

Key defenders like Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane are likely to leave the club at the end of the season. This could prompt United to make a move for the young Italian.

Meanwhile, Chelsea's young, big-money signings in defense have not worked out so far. Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi have been blowing hot and cold, and Wesley Fofana has been sidelined with a very long-term injury since his arrival. Thiago Silva has been really impressive, but is also likely nearing the end of his career.

Both clubs will certainly be vying for the services of a top-quality central defender come the end of the season. With the quality that Scalvini possesses, we could see this transfer saga boil over into the summer.

Chelsea told they need to sell £100 million worth of homegrown players to comply with FFP rules

Chelsea have been informed that they will need to sell atleast £100 million worth of homegrown players to comply with financial fair play (FFP) rules.

On Jim White and Alex Crook's deadline day show, FFP expert and financial advisor Stefan Borson was the one who made this stunning revelation.

He declared that Chelsea might have to part ways with club captain Reece James and Cobham graduate Conor Gallagher.

Speaking about Chelsea's predicament, Borson said:

"In my mind, there’s certainly trouble on the horizon, and they will certainly fail FFP for the current season. Unless – and it seems to be very unlikely – that by June 30 this year they sell well over £100m of players."

The Blues have already spent over £1 billion since their July 2022 takeover by new owner Todd Boehly. In this period, they smashed the British transfer record twice.

They did sell Kai Havertz to Arsenal for £65 million, Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City for up to £30 million and Mason Mount to Manchester United for £55 million. However, they clearly need to cash in on more players to stay under the FFP cap.