What’s the story?
Chilean newspaper El Mercurio claim that Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has made Arturo Vidal his top priority and wants him at the club next season. According to the newspaper, Conte has already spoken to the midfielder regarding a possible move to the club.
The Blues have decided to launch a summer bid for Vidal who is currently playing at Bayern Munich.
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Vidal was managed by Conte for three seasons at Juventus during which the Bianconeri won three Serie-A titles. Vidal was the midfield lynchpin of the team and a player that Conte heavily relied on during his years at Juventus.
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A versatile midfielder, Vidal primarily operates as a box to box midfielder and first showed glimpses of his quality during his early days at Juventus. Since then he has been one of the most consistent midfielders in the world with regular displays of his world class quality. Blessed with stamina, Vidal has a work rate that is second to none and he could definitely become a star if a move to the Premier League does happen.
The heart of the matter
El Mercurio has also said that Vidal is keen on a move to Chelsea to play under his former manager again. The report also claims that the player has already started with English lessons so as to adapt to the country and its league. The midfielder is currently 29 and moved to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2015.
The German club is demanding £56 million for the Chilean which is quite a steep price for a player who is about to touch 30 years of age. Bayern had bought him for £25.5 million and are reportedly demanding double the price two years since his purchase.
What next?
The newspaper’s claim that the Chelsea board has sanctioned the move already appears to be some solid show of strength by the Blues. With Champions League fixtures from next year, Chelsea will definitely need more men to man their midfield as the Blues currently have just 3 quality central midfielders in Kante, Fabregas and Matic.
Sportskeeda’s take
There is no doubt that Antonio Conte is a fan of the midfielder. The Italian has in the past gone on record to say that he would love to have a player like Vidal in all his teams.
The Chilean is a midfield powerhouse but what remains to be seen is whether shelling out over £50 million, for a player who does not have age on his side, will be a good move in the future or not.
