Chelsea to face competition from European giants for 24-year-old Brazilian star: Reports

Chelsea are allegedly set to face competition from Serie A giants Inter Milan in the transfer race to sign Athletico Paranaense star Bento ahead of the next campaign.

Earlier this Thursday (March 28), Brazilian news outlet UOL claimed that the Blues have added Bento to their summer shopping list. The west London club have been impressed with the 24-year-old goalkeeper's outings for Brazil in their most-recent two friendly clashes.

Now, according to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter Milan are keen to rope in Bento in the upcoming transfer window. They are hoping to sign the star as an apt potential successor to Yann Sommer.

Inter Milan, who signed the ageing Sommer from Bayern Munich last summer, are set to offer tough competition to Chelsea as a result. Benfica are also interested in signing the Brazilian, who is valued at £13 million.

Bento, whose current contract is set to expire in December 2026, made his senior debut for Athletico Paranaense in November 2020. He has registered 50 shutouts in 148 overall games so far, conceding 153 goals.

Chris Sutton backs former team Chelsea to defeat Burnley in upcoming league contest

In his column for BBC, ex-Chelsea forward Chris Sutton predicted a comfortable 2-0 win for the Blues in their Premier League encounter against Burnley on Saturday (March 30). He wrote:

"I really cannot win with Burnley, who beat Brentford [2-1] at Turf Moor last time out after I had given up on them ever getting anything at home. I don't seem do much better with Chelsea, whose inconsistency for most of this season has made predicting their results very difficult, but I am pretty confident I will be right about them this time."

Backing the Blues to emerge victorious at home, Sutton concluded:

"Recent results for Mauricio Pochettino's side have actually been a lot more steady and, with the FA Cup semi-finals to come, they can still finish a disappointing season on a positive note. Chelsea were too strong for Burnley earlier in the season, and I am expecting the same story at Stamford Bridge."

The Blues, who will face Manchester City in their FA Cup semi-final clash, are 11th in the 2023-24 Premier League standings with 39 points from 27 matches. Burnley are 19th with just 17 points from 29 games.

Mauricio Pochettino's side, who beat Burnley 4-1 earlier this season, boast a great head-to-head record against Burnley. They are unbeaten in their past 10 meetings against the Clarets, winning eight of them.