Chelsea are set to declare their Premier League aspirations for the forthcoming season by upping their efforts to sign Valencia’s Juan Mata and Tottenham’s Luka Modric, and are prepared to spend up to £60million on the pair, according to the Daily Mail.
Spanish winger Mata is desperate for a move to the Premier League, with Arsenal and Tottenham having had bids for him rejected by Valencia.
Chelsea, who had a £22m bid for Mata rejected last week, are set to return with an offer of £27m plus £2m in additions, while Tottenham’s resolve to keep Chelsea’s top target, Modric, appears to be weakening.
Harry Redknapp appears to be coming around to the idea of selling Modric, as it will give him the funds he wants to strengthen his team in other areas, however Chairman Daniel Levy still wants his star man to stay.
When asked about the potential transfer yesterday, Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas remained respectful of Modric’s contract at Tottenham, and refused to be drawn out on the issue.
‘The only thing I can say is just that it can happen. I don’t know to what extent we can go regarding his price because we are speaking about a high amount and nothing else, basically. End of story.’
He added: ‘Whatever comes from Harry’s mind is his own opinion about the situation. I just have to study the rest of the market and hopefully find a solution for my team.
‘It depends on a lot of things. It depends on Chelsea’s decision – if they are willing to go forward or not; up to which value and to decide whether they want to keep the interest in the player. It doesn’t depend on me. It’s not my money!
‘Luka, on this particular occasion, is a young player but there would be for sure a sensible price to pay.’
In the lead up to the weekend’s game against West Brom, the Chelsea manager said he is happy with the state of his squad, but he still wants a marquee signing in midfield.
Villas-Boas said: ‘We are happy with what we have running into the West Brom game. With Essien’s injury, it’s fair to say we might go to the market regarding a midfielder.
‘For the first competitive games, bearing in mind the group phase of the Champions League, the start of the Carling Cup, we might just add a number in midfield.’
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