Chelsea Plan £45m Move For Manchester United And Arsenal Targets

With the summer transfer window looming again, big clubs around Europe keep getting linked to a number of players. Chelsea isn’t an exception, as the blues (who have been linked to a number of players both within and outside England) and are currently being linked to a £45 million double swoop for Southampton pair of Nathaniel Clyne and Morgan Schneiderlin.

The pair who have been for a long time linked to a move to Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal are said to be wanted by Chelsea to add the needed quality of depth to the squad as well as increase the number of home grown talent at the Bridge.

24-year-old England International, Nathan Clyne who is a right-back by trade is expected to come in as a back-up for Branislav Ivanovic who has now established himself as the first-choice right-back and also is not getting any younger at the age of 32. Ivanovic is yet to agree a new contract with Chelsea and his likely to leave in the summer especially as the club is insisting on it policy of offering just one year deals to players above the age of 30. This has seen him ( Ivanovic ) linked to a number of clubs in Europe, with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and even Juventus, all closely watching his contract situation at Chelsea. Clyne is a similar player to Ivanovic, with the ability to overlap effectively and recover on time. Should Chelsea buy him, he will be a worthy back-up and long term replacement for the Serbia. The only major difference between both players is Ivanovic’s experience and versatility. Ivanovic can play in the centre-back position as well as left back. However, as Chelsea already has Zouma, Terry and Cahill and are very likely to buy someone else in that centre back position in the summer, signing someone like Nathan Clyne for the soon to be vacant right-back position will make a lot of sense. With only one year left on his Southampton contract, Chelsea could get Nathan Clyne for just £15 million.

Morgan Schneiderlin who is the second player Chelsea are reportedly targeting from Southampton, is a central midfielder by trade and has been tracked by Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham in particular. Last summer the Saints proved that they weren’t going to let the French International leave for cheap after they resisted a number of bids from various clubs. But this season, a bid of £30 million should be able to seal the deal for his sale with Schneiderlin desperate to play Champions League football next summer. This fee according to the reports from the English media Chelsea are ready to pay.

The 25-year-old could be brought in to compliment Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic who seem to be the untouchables in Mourinho’s team. The robust midfielder has the ability to break up attacks, just like Matic and then set up new ones, he also contributes his fair share of goals to the team. Jose Mourinho is known for doing his business early in the transfer window and it won’t surprise me in the least if the blues beat the rest of the chasing pack to the signing of the pair – if the report linking Chelsea to their signing is true thats.