Chelsea ahead of Liverpool in Neves chase
Chelsea have reportedly moved ahead of both Liverpool and Juventus in the race to sign talented Porto youngster Ruben Neves.
The 19-year-old is said to have attracted interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs with his impressive performances in Portugal having racked up 50 Liga NOS appearances along with 13 outings in the Champions League already.
According to Portuguese outlet Visao de Mercado, Chelsea are understood to be willing to offer £24m plus add-ons, with the hope that they can wrap up a deal swiftly and complete the transfer in January.
However, it’s added that although they appear to be favourites to land Neves currently, both Liverpool and Juve remain interested as they look to bolster their own midfield options.
With regards to Chelsea, Antonio Conte will be looking for quality depth behind the likes of Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante, although it could be said that the Italian tactician is better off prioritising other areas of his squad.
Nevertheless, the report claims that Neves is firmly in his sights and could be Stamford Bridge bound next year if Chelsea can convince Porto to sell.
Meanwhile, Juve will be looking for younger talented midfielders to provide competition for the likes of Sami Khedira and Claudio Marchisio moving forward too.
Based on the report though, it seems as though all three clubs remain keen on Neves, but Chelsea have stolen a march and will look to wrap up a deal sooner rather than later to avoid missing out.
Source: CaughtOffside
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