Chelsea are reportedly in “pole position” to sign Belgium and Zenit Saint Petersburg midfielder Axel Witsel despite ongoing reports that he is primed for a move to Everton. 

According to Antony Kastrinakis in the Sun, the west London outfit have “leapfrogged the Toffees, Juventus, Inter Milan and Napoli in the race for the Belgium star,” and his arrival at Stamford Bridge could spell the end of Nemanja Matic’s time as a Chelsea player. 

Valued at £28 million, Witsel is predominantly a deep-lying midfield player but can also operate further forward, and Chelsea have “all-but agreed terms” with his agents over a signing, added Kastrinakis.

Everton had previously been on the verge of signing the 27-year-old—and they still could—but Witsel has a history of troublesome transfer dealings, per Belgian football writer Kristof Terreur:

Witsel has only a year left on his current contract with Zenit having moved to the Russian outfit from Benfica in 2012 for €40 million (£32 million).

He has impressed during his time in Russia and has been a regular in the Belgium national team for some time—he started each of their matches at Euro 2016.

Given how surprisingly poor Chelsea’s central-midfield unit of Matic and Fabregas was last season in the Premier League, the Blues were always likely to strengthen over the summer, and incoming manager Antonio Conte is “desperate” to sign Witsel, per Kastrinakis.

Per Bleacher Report’s Dean Jones, Matic was a particularly weak link as Chelsea struggled in 2015-16, and it would not be overly surprising if he left Stamford Bridge for a second time following Witsel’s arrival.

Per David Amoyal, translator for GianlucaDiMarzio.com, Juventus have made inquiries about signing Matic, 27, this summer.

With Paul Pogba potentially set to depart the club, the Old Lady undoubtedly need to strengthen their own central-midfield department, however, Amoyal’s report indicated “Conte has taken [Matic] off the market.”

When winning the Premier League title in 2014-15, Matic was superb for Chelsea, and it looked a masterstroke from then-manager Jose Mourinho that he brought him back to the club for a second time.

Conte may well be confident that he can return the Serbian to his best form under his new regime, but if Juve come in with a good enough offer, he could be tempted to sell.

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/29pKcle
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