Chelsea are set to “submit a fresh bid” for Borussia Dortmund winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan after reports claimed owner Roman Abramovich will give new manager Antonio Conte a £130 million transfer kitty to make the Blues contenders once again.

According to TransferMarketWeb.com’s Claudio Colla, Conte will chase several other targets as well, including Kostas Manolas, Radja Nainggolan, Miralem Pjanic, John Stones, Antoine Griezmann and Gonzalo Higuain.

Arsenal have also reportedly shown interest in BVB star Mkhitaryan, with Chelsea willing to pay a high price after offering £46 million to the Bundesliga club last summer for the attacker’s services, per Alex Harris of the Daily Star.

Rather than lose Mkhitaryan for nothing next year, per the Mirror‘s Darren Lewis, it’s possible Dortmund could now look to offload him in the summer window, and FourFourTwo‘s Alex Chaffer has said his future is up in the air—making Dortmund a target for the buying market:

Conte is also tipped to visit his homeland to capture talent from Serie A, with rumours of a move for Inter Milan skipper Mauro Icardi. However, the Argentinian has moved swiftly to deny any potential switch to the Premier League, as reported by Goal’s Sacha Pisani. 

The player assured Nerazzurri supporters by stating:

I have a contract until 2019 and there are a few years to go yet. I will absolutely stay here. Do I want to become the new Javier Zanetti? Steady on, that’s a lot of years. I am happy to be here and to be wearing his armband. If I get to remain as many years as he did, then I’ll be even happier.

Manchester United and Arsenal are also interested in the forward who has found the back of the net 16 times in Serie A this term.

Here is a video showing off the player’s ability in an Inter shirt:

As Conte makes firm plans for the future, it appears captain John Terry is surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge.

James Gray of the Express reported the former England skipper “expects to leave in the summer,” but will meet senior staff from the club to confirm his future on Thursday.

It is a sorry end to Terry’s career in west London, but the dramatic failure of the team this season ensured a wave of change was always going to happen.

The defender is part of the old guard under disposed manager Jose Mourinho, and will now be consigned to the Hall of Fame containing recent Chelsea legends such as Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.

Terry could still do a job in the Premier League if he opted to stay in England, but as Matt Law of the Telegraph confirmed, the player has plenty of demand from abroad and is likely to seek out one last payday in China or the Middle East. 

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/1WtAdis
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J