Chelsea have held talks with Porto winger Jesus Corona over the possibility of signing him in the next transfer window, his agent has confirmed.
Blues head coach Frank Lampard will be on the hunt for a new right-winger once the next transfer window officially opens for business, with both Willian and Pedro set to leave Stamford Bridge when their current deals expire this summer.
It is no secret that the Blues have been actively keeping tabs on Borussia Dortmund starlet Jadon Sancho in recent months, with Lampard desperately keen on adding the England international to his squad.
However, Dortmund are not expected to be willing to sell Sancho, who has enjoyed a fabulous campaign in the Bundesliga this season, for anything less than £100million, meaning that could prove to be a stretch too far for the Blues, especially when you take into account the financial impact the coronavirus pandemic will have brought about.
Therefore, it seems that the Blues are already looking at alternative options, with Mexican winger Corona being linked with a move to West London.
And his agent, Matias Bunge, has now confirmed that Chelsea have made contact and held discussions about the 27-year-old's availability.
Speaking to Medio Tiempo, Bunge explained: "At some point we talked to them.
"I cannot say if he’s option A, B or C, now they are rather rumours.
"We’ll have to wait a bit for this to continue moving forward and for the leagues to begin again, and from there see what the next movements will be because the market is a little bit stopped.
“He has two years left on his contract. He did awaken a lot of interest for his participation in this particular tournament [Primera Liga], which has been outstanding and at a high level.
"But now with the current situation of the virus everything has slowed down a bit, now the signings are in quarantine."
As well as confirming that Chelsea had held talks with the winger, Bunge also revealed just how much the Blues will have to pay to get the deal over the line.
“The current [release] clause is €30million (£27million)," he added..
"From there we’ll see how things happen. Today, Jesus has been a fundamental part of Porto for several seasons and we’re going to see where it ends.
“We have spoken with several teams from England, Spain, some from Germany, but well, normally at this time of year we talk more deeply, and in this market the leagues are either resuming or haven’t been able to conclude.
"All the teams are seeing what happens to their sales or their signings so from there the ball continues to roll in the offices.”
Corona has been a regular fixture for Porto over the past few seasons, proving to be one of their most valued players since joining the club almost five years ago from Dutch outfit FC Twente.
During his time with FC Twente, Corona spent time playing alongside incoming Blues signing Hakim Ziyech, who will officially join the Blues on July 1.
In 41 appearances for the Portuguese giants this term, Corona has scored just two goals but has proven to be a real architect when it's come to creating them, registering a very impressive 17 assists.
