Chelsea are ready to make a £42.8 million bid for Sporting Lisbon midfielder Matheus Nunes, according to reports.
Nunes is attracting interest from England this summer, with Wolves showing interest and readying an offer for the 23-year-old.
But they are set to be joined by Chelsea in their pursuit of Nunes, according to reports in Portugal.
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A Bola report that Thomas Tuchel’s side are ready an offer of £42.8 million, including bonuses, for the midfielder this summer.
It is claimed that Thomas Tuchel’s side could make an offer as early as Wednesday as they look to bolster their side ahead of their pre-season tour of the United States that gets underway next weekend.
No signings have been made yet, and they could beat Wolves in the race due to the offering of Champions League football being available.
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Also, Bruno Lage’s side have been unable to submit their planned £42.8 million bid for Nunes due to Ruben Neves still remaining at Molineux.
Chelsea are planning to prioritise strengthening their defence and attack, yet to make a single signing this summer, with a move for Raheem Sterling and one defender hoped to be completed by the end of the week.
Tuchel’s midfield is stacked with options. Jorginho and N’Golo Kante are set to discuss their futures this summer, while Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Conor Gallagher, Billy Gilmour, Ethan Ampadu and Ross Barkley are all available to the Blues head coach.
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It doesn’t appear that it is a priority for Chelsea unless departures occur following an admission from a senior source close to the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital consortium.
After confirming up to six signings could arrive in the summer transfer window, they told The Telegraph last month: "We really want to make sure we have a good defence. We've got depth in midfield. We're not desperate for an out-and-out striker.”
Nunes made 50 appearances for Sporting last term, scoring four and registering five assists from midfield.
He has received high praise from Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, who dubbed him as one of the best in the world following his performance in the Champions League against City.
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"Sporting are a fantastic team, they are the champions of Portugal, which have a very strong league, with Porto and Benfica, they change the ball well, they have fast and intelligent players," acknowledged Guardiola.
"I would say that Matheus Nunes is one of the best players in the world today."
Tuchel will be itching to get his first signings through he door after arriving back at their Cobham training base earlier this week for the beginning of pre-season.
Topics: Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon
