Chelsea’s proposed swap deal with Juventus for strikers Romelu Lukaku and Dusan Vlahovic could pick up pace next week with the two sides taking time off to work things out.
That’s according to Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport, who both cover the negotiations between the various parties today.
Gazzetta report that there has been no progress on the negotiations over an exchange between the two clubs, with them currently separated by about €20m.
They’ve now ‘taken a few days off’ before returning to the table next week to see if there is room for the negotiating to proceed and then reach an agreement.
The problem at the moment is Chelsea, where confusion seems to reign over who is in charge. The newspaper says there are ‘two souls’ at the club and while one pushes for Vlahovic and is working on the deal, the other is not so keen.
The one part which is keen is trying to work out the potential bonuses they could include in the deal to help it reach the €40m that Juventus are asking for. Juventus, for their part, are determined to ensure that the deal brings a ‘substantial economic benefit’ and they won’t drop below €40m.
Vlahovic, for his part, knows the transfer could happen and won’t oppose it. He would prefer to go to Real Madrid or PSG because he wants Champions League football but ‘will listen to any proposal’ from the Blues.
Negotiations are expecting to ‘get going’ at the beginning of next week, with the various parties expected to talk on the phone on Monday.
The plan is for the management at both clubs to sit down and take stock of the situation to try, once and for all, to close the distance between the two clubs.
The big issue that needs to be resolved is how much Chelsea are going to pay Juventus to balance the deal. At this moment in time the deal is more favourable to the Blues when comparing Lukaku with Vlahovic.
Juventus intend to monetise the transfer as much as possible and initially asked for €40-50m, but Chelsea only offered €20m. A deal can therefore be done at €30-35m and that is the goal both parties intend to reach.
Juventus are in a hurry to conclude the negotiation positively, but Chelsea have no such need as they don’t feel a desperate need to reinforce their forward line given the arrivals of Nicholas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku.
They, therefore, are seemingly comfortable to drag things out but talks are continuing nonetheless over the swap deal.
