Here are the Chelsea evening headlines for Tuesday August 11.
Chelsea trying for transfer target with a £630million release clause
Chelsea are debating an attempt to secure Real Madrid youngster Vinicius Junior, according to AS (via the Daily Express).
Zinedine Zidane rejected the Blues last attempt to sign the 20-year-old back in November, but he has since struggled to earn regular minutes at the Bernabeu. His frustration at a lack of opportunities has opened the door for Lampard, who is keen to add him to his arsenal of attackers.
Vinicius first moved to Madrid from Flamengo in 2018 and has a massive £630m release clause in his contract, which still has five years remaining. The Brazilian has produced eight goals in 69 appearances but has struggled to earn a regular spot in Zidane’s side.
He was an unused substitute during the Champions League defeat to Manchester City and did not even warm up while watching on the sidelines.
“Others have played, but on these occasions, when a team loses, you can look for things,” Zidane said when asked why Vinicius was not used.
“Vinicius could enter, other players too. I am the coach, and when I made the changes today, there were others. Nothing more.
“Everyone can give their opinion from outside, it’s normal, but then I’m the coach. Yes, you could change before, change to another player, but that’s not going to change things."
Marina Granovskaia reaches agreement to sell Chelsea outcast to aid Frank Lampard’s transfer plan
Serbian side Cukaricki are nearing a deal to sign Chelsea midfielder Danilo Pantic, according to reports.
Pantic, 23, moved to Stamford Bridge from FK Partizan in 2015 for a fee in the region of £1.25m.
The Serbian youth international was unable to break into the Blues first team, however, and was sent out on five different loan spells to clubs in the Netherlands, Hungary and most recently Serbia.
The last of those clubs was Cukaricki, and it has convinced the Serbian outfit to make the deal permanent while also freeing up space in Frank Lampard’s squad.
Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte helps Chelsea to speed up Kai Havertz transfer
Chelsea’s attempts to secure a deal for Bayer Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz received a boost last night from Antonio Conte when the German club fell out of the Europa League.
Conte’s Inter Milan side ended Leverkusen’s participation after a 2-1 victory with goals from Romelu Lukaku and Nico Barella securing the result.
Football.london understands that Chelsea remains confident of reaching an accord with their German counterparts for Havertz, with the 21-year-old eager to make Stamford Bridge his home.
