The Sun have some interesting takes today, claiming that Chelsea are intending to add £9m to the fee they ask for from Inter Milan for Marcos Alonso, for nefarious reasons.
They say that the club are out for revenge after Inter manager Antonio Conte won from them after a long and bitter legal dispute concluded this year.
It’s a juicy story, but it’s really meaningless. Chelsea will charge what they charge for Alonso, and will have a price in mind they want. Everybody is flexible to some degree, and if Inter offer more than everyone else they’ll still be inclined to take it, no matter the precise numbers. His value is only going to drop the less he plays, so they’re not in a strong position to command the fee they might have wanted a year ago.
So they’ll take what they can get – getting personal doesn’t help anyone in the end.
