Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Fenerbahce star Attila Szalai, according to reports in Turkey.
The Champions League winners had been intent on bolstering their defensive options in the summer but missed out on primary target Jules Kounde, with Sevilla demanding in excess of £65million for the Frenchman.
Thomas Tuchel is determined to plan for the future and the growing uncertainty surrounding Antonio Rudiger – who is out of contract at the end of the season – has only intensified Chelsea’s desire to strengthen in this area of the pitch.
Kounde remains firmly on Chelsea’s radar and Juventus’ Matthijs de Ligt is being eyed as a possible high-profile addition at the back, but a significantly cheaper alternative has emerged in the shape of Fenerbahce centre-back Szalai.
CNN Turkey claim the Blues are ‘serious’ about Szalai and have reached an initial €23.4m (£20m) agreement with Fenerbahce for the 23-year-old Hungary international ahead of the January transfer window.
Negotiations have accelerated in recent days and Szalai is expected to put pen to paper on a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge where he will earn around €4m-a-year (£3.4m-a-year).
Szalai will become the most expensive player in the history of Hungarian football should Chelsea finalise the move. The record currently belongs to Dominik Szoboszlai, who was sold from Red Bull Salzburg to RB Leipzig for a fee of €20m (£17m).
Atletico Madrid have also registered a strong interest in Szalai, with Diego Simeone keen to bring in cover for Stefan Savic and Jose Gimenez, but it appears the La Liga champions will have to look elsewhere for reinforcements.
Szalai swapped Apollon Limassol for Fenerbahce last January and has since established himself as one of the finest young defenders in Turkey’s Super Lig.
The imposing 6 ft 4 in…
Source : metro
