Chelsea have reportedly agreed to sell Mario Pasalic to Atalanta for €15m.
The Croatian midfielder has been one of the underground successes of the loan system, picking up steam as one of the lesser lights but now really hitting his stride. He played a key role on loan this season, playing 33 games as the Bergamo side finished 3rd in Serie A. It’s no surprise they’ve decided to get him signed permanently.
There are various reports on the status of the deal, with the most reliable coming from Gazzetta journalist Nicolo Schira.
In the Tweet you can see below, he says it’s a done deal at €15m, which seems a fair if perhaps low price for a real talent with plenty of years still to develop. That may indicate there is some kind of sell on or buy back clause, but as yet we don’t know anything about this.
L’#Atalanta riscatta dal #Chelsea il croato Mario #Pasalic per 15 milioni di euro. #calciomercato
— Nicolò Schira (@NicoSchira) June 12, 2019
Clearly the club are happy to move to players who they don’t think will be in the first team anytime soon, even with a transfer ban. But making decisions like that now makes being sure of who our new manager will be extra important.