Fenerbahce have vehemently denied speculation that Chelsea have wrapped up a deal to sign Attila Szalai, insisting the defender has not had his head turned.
Chelsea missed out on top defensive target Jules Kounde in the summer and Thomas Tuchel remains intent on strengthening at centre-back, with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen both out of contract at the end of the season.
Recent reports emanating from Turkey suggested the Champions League holders had turned their attentions away from Sevilla’s Kounde and reached an initial £20million agreement with Fenerbahce to land Szalai.
It was claimed the 23-year-old Hungary international was set to pen to paper on a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge on wages of around £3.4m-a-year.
These rumours were backed up last week by Hungary head coach manager Marco Rossi, who appeared to confirm that Szalai’s big-money switch to Chelsea was imminent.
Asked which Hungarian player would be a good fit for Serie A at Turin’s Ussi Awards, Rossi replied: ’It’s hard to name just one player, but right now I see very well Attila Szalai, who plays for Fenerbahce, but I think he is joining Chelsea.
‘Clearly, he is being watched by important clubs in Spain, but apparently his move to Chelsea is a done deal. He would be a great player also for Italian football.’
Szalai will become the most expensive player in Hungarian football history should he complete a £20m move to west London. This record currently belongs to Dominik Szoboszlai, who was sold from Red Bull Salzburg to RB Leipzig for a fee of around £17m last January.
However, Szalai and his camp have remained tight-lipped amid the intense speculation over his future and Fenerbahce have been keen to pour cold water on the…
Source : metro
