Chelsea stun Man City with ‘verbal offer’ launched for Guardiola target; Boehly has already agreed personal terms with star
Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino on the touchline during Man City vs Tottenham
Chelsea have taken a big step towards signing a top Premier League star before Manchester City, having reportedly agreed personal terms with him and also proposed their first offer.
Chelsea have been busy in the summer transfer window of late. On Friday, they announced the arrival of French centre-back Axel Disasi from Monaco on a six-year contract. The transfer cost Chelsea €45m (£38.9m).
And Chelsea have followed that deal up with the capture of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from Brighton. According to BBC Sport, Chelsea have spent £25m when tying the shot-stopper down to a seven-year deal.
Disasi and Sanchez have followed Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson to Stamford Bridge this summer. Chelsea have also looked towards the future by bringing in exciting young players Lesley Ugochukwu, Diego Moreira, Angelo Gabriel and Kendry Paez.
Mauricio Pochettino will not be stopping there, however. He wants Chelsea to battle City for the signing of Palace winger Michael Olise.
On August 1, Chelsea insider Nathan Gissing revealed Chelsea have ‘concrete’ interest in Olise, while The Guardian claimed City could go as high as £50m when bidding for the attacker.
READ MORE: Next two Chelsea transfers decided after €20m bid, with another star to leave for Crystal Palace
Arsenal expert Charles Watts has explained why Olise joining Mikel Arteta’s squad would be a ‘terrible move’, while Palace are trying to prevent an exit from happening by offering the 21-year-old a new contract.
Fabrice Hawkins of French outlet RMC Sport has now provided a big update on Olise’s situation. He has confirmed that City are ‘closely following’ Olise, but it is Chelsea who have struck first by sending a ‘verbal offer’ to Palace. That bid is worth €30m (£25.9m), but it is likely to be rejected as Palace are holding out for €40m (£34.5m).
Chelsea agree personal terms with Man City target – report
In some great news for Pochettino, Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly has already reached an ‘agreement in principle’ on personal terms with Olise.
This means that if Chelsea and Palace finalise a deal, it will not take long for the Blues to sort out a contract with Olise. And Chelsea’s huge financial power means they should be able to meet Palace’s £34.5m asking price fairly easily.
Pep Guardiola will be gutted if Olise does head to West London. This is because Guardiola has landed on Olise as his ideal replacement for Riyad Mahrez, who has joined Saudi Arabian club Al Ahli for £30m.
There is now the real prospect of City losing out on Olise to Chelsea. Although, City have already got one up on Chelsea by signing Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig.
Chelsea had a bid rejected for Gvardiol late in the 2022 summer transfer window. And he has now gone to City in a £77.8m deal, signing a five-year contract with the treble winners.
Meanwhile, Sanchez has sent a message to Pochettino following confirmation of his move to Chelsea.
