Chelsea to complete £61m move for Alex Sandro making him the most expensive defender ever with Nathan Ake to join Bournemouth for £20m- Brazil international Alex Sandro is set to join Chelsea from Juventus for £61m
- The fee would eclipse the £50m that Chelsea paid for Fernando Torres in 2011
- Nathan Ake was on loan at Bournemouth last season before being recalled
Chelsea are closing in on Alex Sandro for a club record transfer fee of £61million and are preparing to recoup around £20m by selling Nathan Ake to Bournemouth.Ake impressed on loan at Bournemouth at the start of last season and was recalled on loan in January as cover for Marcos Alonso and Gary Cahill on the left side of Antonio Conte’s defence.
The versatile Dutch international defender performed brilliantly when he deputised for Cahill in the FA Cup semi-final but found his chances were limited at Chelsea during the latter part of the season.
At 22, he is determined to find regular football and talks have opened over a move back to Bournemouth.Chelsea are reluctant to sell a player they believe will mature into a fine Premier League defender and will demand a buy-back option in the details of any deal.Southampton had also shown interest in Ake as a potential replacement for Virgil van Dijk.
But Van Dijk’s proposed move to Liverpool stalled after allegations of an illegal approach by the Merseysiders and made the Saints move reluctant than ever to sell.
Liverpool and Chelsea are expected to return with further attempts to prise Van Dijk away now Southampton have finally resolved their managerial change with Mauricio Pellegrino replacing Claude Puel.
However Bournemouth have stolen ahead in the race for Ake.
Sandro, meanwhile, has told Juventus he wants to leave for Chelsea.Juve chief executive Beppe Marotta rejected Chelsea’s initial bid of £55.2m although he told the Brazilian left-back he would not stand in his way if the price was right.The Italian champions will make a healthy profit on the 26-year-old who cost £23m when he signed from Porto two years ago.
Sandro started out in Brazil with Atletico Paranaense before a year at Santos and an £8m move to Porto in 2011.
Chelsea are prepared to increase their offer and show backing for manager Conte who has become concerned at the lack of activity at the start of what he hoped would be a big summer of recruitment at Stamford Bridge.The fee will smash the £50m Chelsea paid for striker Fernando Torres in 2011 and will eclipse the £47.5m British record fee for a defender paid by Manchester City to Everton for John Stones last year.Sandro is a strong and attack-minded left-back who will compete for a place with Marcos Alonso.
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