Chelsea look to hijack Liverpool’s move for Brazil No1 Alisson with £65million bid
If the Blues are successful it will pave the way for unsettled Thibaut Courtois to join Real Madrid in the next few days
CHELSEA are trying to hijack Liverpool's move for Brazil keeper Alisson with a £65million bid.
If they are successful it will then pave the way for their unsettled Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois to join Real Madrid in the next few days.
Liverpool are closing in on a deal for Roma's No1 and have offered around £62m to close the deal ahead of the competition.
But Chelsea are refusing to accept defeat and will try to use their heavy Italian influences at Stamford Bridge to snatch him at the 11th hour.
New head coach Maurizio Sarri has already signed midfielder Jorginho from his former club Napoli.
Chelsea are no strangers to producing last minute shocks too having pinched midfielder Willian from under the noses of rivals Tottenham in 2013.
Striker Michy Batshuayi was also on the verge of signing for West Ham when he turned them down in favour of Chelsea two years ago.
Chelsea will have to take a hit of around £30m if the deral to let Courtois leave goes through.
He has only one year left on his contract and has made it clear he is unlikely to sign another deal.
He went public with a statement that he will see what Chelsea have to offer in the next few days before making a final decision.
But Courtois has been a long term target for Madrid and has made no secret of the fact he wants to return to Spain one day having already played for Atletico Madrid while on loan from Chelsea.
If Courtois goes it makes it much less likely that his Belgium team-mate Eden Hazard will be sold too this summer.
Real Madrid are also keen on the midfielder but he would cost in excess of £200m and still has two years left on his contract.