Chelsea are reportedly willing to let Juan Cuadrado leave for Juventus on a permanent basis, while the Biaconeri have made a last ditch effort to bring midfielder Axel Witsel to Turin before the transfer window shuts.
Since arriving in January 2015, the Colombian winger failed to establish himself in the Chelsea starting lineup under Jose Mourinho. After a difficult half-season in London, Cuadrado was loaned back to the Serie A at the start of the 2015-16 campaign. Cuadrado has since had a good spell with the Italian giants with a return of 5 goals in his 40 appearances for the club.
The Serie A champions have since wanted him to return to Juventus Stadium on a permanent basis, but new Chelsea manager Antonio Conte insisted that Cuadrado was a part of his plans for the future. However, Gazzetta World report that the Blues are now willing to let the Colombian winger leave.
The report added that there has been a breakthrough in negotiations and that even though talks are ongoing, a deal may be announced shortly. With Willian, Pedro and even Victor Moses performing well in recent weeks, Cuadrado is unlikely to see much game time in the near future. A possible sale would help Chelsea recover some of the reported £23.3 million that they spent on him in 2015.
Juventus make last ditch effort for Axel Witsel
According to a report in Calciomercato, Zenit are reportedly willing to negotiate with Juventus over a possible move. Earlier in the season, the Belgian had taken himself off the market and decided to stay on for another season.
Juventus had made an offer of €18 million earlier in the summer, but it was rejected by the Russian giants after they claimed they wouldn’t listen to offers below €30 million.
With Claudio Marchisio injured and Paul Pogba no more in their ranks, the Biaconeri are looking for another top quality central midfielder to add to their roster alongside Sami Khedira and Miralem Pjanic. They were linked with Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic and French international N’golo Kante before the Frenchman moved to Stamford Bridge from Leicester City. The Old Lady were also linked with a move with PSG’s Blaise Matuidi, but the interest seems to have ended as soon as the PSG hierarchy made it clear they are not willing to sell.
The 28-year-old Belgian international has only one year left on his contract and Zenit are reportedly willing to consider an offer in the range of €25m including bonuses rather than losing him for free next summer.
