After being rejected by AC Milan and Napoli in their pursuit of Alessio Romagnoli and Kalidou Koulibaly respectively, Chelsea have now set their sights on PSG’s Brazilian defender Marquinhos.
According to Le10Sport, Chelsea are willing to spend €55 million to bring the PSG centre-back to Stamford Bridge. After having numerous bids for Kalidou Koulibaly rejected and two bids for Alessio Romagnoli also turned down this past week, Antonio Conte’s side are getting desperate in their hunt for a defender and are willing to spend huge money with only a few days to go in the transfer window.
The 22-year-old centre-back has been the subject of interest from the likes of Manchester United and Barcelona this summer, and in June it was reported that he had spoken to the PSG hierarchy about moving away from the Parc De Princes. Marquinhos reportedly met with PSG president Naseer Al-Khelaifi and requested him to sanction a move to Barcelona.
His desire to leave stemmed from the lack of game time with the Parisian giants, with former manager Laurent Blanc preferring to use David Luiz and Thiago Silva in the centre of defence. Given Barcelona’s problems in defence at the time, a move to the Nou Camp seemed perfect for someone his age.
But since then, Barcelona have brought in defensive reinforcements in Samuel Umtiti and Lucas Digne and have tied down Javier Mascherano till 2016. Marquinhos’ other notable suitors Manchester United have signed Eric Bailly from Villarreal and their interest has seemingly died down.
Marquinhos, who recently helped Brazil win the gold medal at the Olympics, has reportedly been offered a new contract, but the magnitude of the fee Chelsea are reportedly willing to pay might be able to force Nasser Al-Khelaifi to let the former Corinthians man leave. However, Le10Sport’s report claims that the President will not be moved by any offers as it is believed that Marquinhos is the future of PSG.
