Chelsea’s pursuit of a defender has been given a big boost by reports in the Evening Standard that the player is having difficulty negotiating a new contract with his current club.
Roma’s Kostas Manolas, one of several Serie A players being constantly linked with Chelsea since the arrival of Italian manager Antonio Conte, has been in outstanding form for his club as they’ve climbed to second in the table, and he wants a new deal to match his form.
Roma are trying to keep the defenders wages to around £40,000 a week, and they will be hard pressed to get him to agree to that given Chelsea would probably offer twice as much.
Manolas’ current deal doesn’t expire till 2019, so Chelsea won’t exactly be getting a bargain. But so long as the Italian club fail to extend his deal, it’s certainly worth the Blues making a note of this dispute so they can be ready to swoop in at an opportune moment.
