Chelsea are reportedly facing competition from Liverpool and as many as three other Premier League clubs in their pursuit of Inter Milan midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia.
According to Goal, Chelsea are in the race to sign Inter Milan midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia, but face competition from Liverpool and other Premier League clubs.
Geoffrey Kondogbia was a club-record transfer for Inter Milan when they paid £26.35m to secure his services from AS Monaco in 2015. The midfield enforcer went on to make 26 Serie A appearances, starting 23 of them, and was a key part of the squad under Roberto Mancini.
However, Frank De Boer’s appointment at the helm brought upon a change in the player’s role. The former Ajax boss chose to use the player sparingly and the midfielder saw himself being demoted to a squad rotation role.
Frank De Boer has been shown the door after a series of disappointing results, but new coach Stefano Pioli has not given the Frenchman any assurances either and amid this uncertainty, Kondogbia is looking more and more likely to leave the club — possibly as early as January.
Chelsea have been eyeing an overhaul of their midfield as Antonio Conte looks to replace the unwanted players with fresh faces. Other than Kondogbia, the Blues have been linked with the likes of Radja Nainggolan of Roma, Milan Badelj of Fiorentina, Steven N’Zonzi of Sevilla.
Conte is intent on adding options to the midfield which would provide cover and competition for the duo of N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic, who have been preferred by the Italian manager thus far.
Chelsea, though, are set to face competition from up to four other Premier League clubs showing interest in the player’s services. While one of them is very likely to be Liverpool, who have been heavily linked with the former AS Monaco player in the recent past, the three other clubs have not been revealed.
Inter Milan would be looking to recoup a majority, if not the entirety, of the club-record £26.35m fee they expended in bringing the player over to Serie A. However, there is an alternative; Inter have been linked with Chelsea outcast Oscar and the two clubs could reach an understanding which would facilitate the transfer of both Kondogbia and Oscar as part of a single deal.
As per the report, Kondogbia feels the playing style of the Premier League matches perfectly with his skill-set and that a move to England is the next logical step in his career. The 23-year-old is hopeful that a move to England and a series of good performances could spark his return to the French national setup.
For now, even though Kondogbia’s destination remains unclear, his departure from Inter Milan and arrival to the Premier League appears imminent.
