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Italian club Fiorentina have reportedly made progress in their attempts to sign Chelsea full-back Davide Zappacosta. The 29-year-old has become an outcast at Chelsea and has been heavily linked with a return to the Serie A this summer.
According to TMW, Fiorentina have been given a major boost in their attempts to sign Zappacosta from Chelsea. The two clubs have begun negotiations over a deal for the Italian, and are reportedly close to an agreement.
Fiorentina's move for Zappacosta could, however, depend on the future of Spanish right-back Pol Lirola.
Lirola has been heavily linked with a move to French club Marseille. Fiorentina will look to sign Davide Zappacosta from Chelsea should Lirola complete a move to France in the coming weeks. Reports have suggested that Fiorentina have agreed to sell Lirola to Marseille for €12 million.
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Davide Zappacosta joined Chelsea from Torino in the summer of 2017. Despite being an integral member of Chelsea's squad during his debut season with the club, Zappacosta was unable to nail down a place in the Blues starting line-up.
Zappacosta made just 18 appearances in his second season with the club and was subsequently loaned out to AS Roma for the 2019-20 campaign. He spent last season on loan with Genoa, where he caught the eye of a number of Italy's top clubs with his consistent performances.
Chelsea are keen to offload a number of fringe players this season. Thomas Tuchel currently possesses a wealth of defensive options and is therefore keen to move the likes of Davide Zappacosta, Kurt Zouma, Malang Sarr, and Emerson Palmieri.
Chelsea likely to use the money from the potential sales of Zappacosta and Palmieri to fund the move for Kounde
Chelsea have made no secret of their desire to sign Jules Kounde this summer. The Blues reportedly offered Kurt Zoums plus €35 million in exchange for Kounde, an offer that was swiftly rejected by Sevilla.
The Spanish club are reportedly looking for a fee in the region of €70 million for Kounde.
Chelsea will therefore look to sell the likes of Zappacosta, Palmieri and Malang Sarr to raise the funds required to sign Jules Kounde before the end of the transfer window.
