Close Antonio Conte friendship key to Chelsea transfer, club boss flies to London to seal deal

 

Sabah have claimed Galatasaray are targeting Chelsea striker Bertrand Traore.

The Turkish club have been linked with moved for Bafetimbi Gomis and Alvaro Negredo in recent weeks, but the Turkish newspaper claim Chelsea’s Traore, who’s on loan at Ajax, is Galatasaray’s number one target for the upcoming transfer window.

Sabah say Galatasaray boss Igor Tudor has called his close friend Antonio Conte and informed the Chelsea boss he wants Traore. Galatasaray CEO Cenk Ergun is currently in England with regards to talks over signing the youngster, and the Turkish giants are hoping Conte’s relationship with Tudor will help them land their target.

Traore will face Manchester United in the Europa League final next week and he’ll then return to Chelsea ahead of next season. Galatasaray are hoping Traore can replace Lukas Podolski, who’ll join Vissel Kobe at the end of the season.

Traore is currently under contract with Chelsea until 2019 and his performances for Ajax have attracted widespread interest. It’s unlikely Chelsea would want to cut their ties completely with the player, so if he leaves permanently there’s the likelihood of a very favourable buyback clause.