Chelsea are closing in on Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovi on a €25m (£21.3m) move to the Bridge. The Blues have reportedly struck a deal with Inter, however, personal terms are yet to be agreed upon.
The deal seems to be in place and is expected to get sorted out before the close of the transfer window.
The Blues have been looking to boost their squad through the summer and while they were linked with a host of players, Chelsea were able to sign only three players this summer.
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Chelsea had been pursuing Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly through the summer, however, the player is set to stay in Italy. Conte has also seen his efforts to sign AC Milan’s Allessio Romagnoli go fruitless.
Brozovi is Conte’s priority target and while Inter were not willing to let go of the player, signing Joao Mario and Gabriel Barbosa to the squad has put a dent in their finances, and are keen on cashing in on the sought after Croatian.
Juventus too were interested in signing the 23-year-old, however, Inter aren’t interested in selling him to a Serie A rival. The Croatian will also see a definitive boost in his paycheck on the completion of the move.
Earlier, reports suggested that Chelsea were planning on offering Cesc Fabregas on a swap deal to Inter so as to sign Brozovi, however, Fabregas will not be part of the deal and is set to stay at the Bridge.
Made move permanent this year
Brozovi signed for Inter permanently only this summer, having completed a year and a half long loan move, which included a clause to buy the player at the end of the loan period.
The player moved to Inter in January 2015 on a loan deal from Dinamo Zagreb and made his official debut for the club in February 2015. While Brozovic is often used as a box-to-box midfielder, the Croatian can play in several positions in midfield.
The 23-year-old midfielder has been a part of FIFA World Cup 2014, playing for Croatia, and made his international debut on on 7th June playing against Australia. He was also a part of the Croatian squad during the European Championship this past summer.
Chelsea have further been linked with Fiorentina midfielder Marcus Alonso, and the Blues are hoping to complete the move before the close of the transfer window.
