Chelsea have confirmed the sale of castaway midfielder Mario Pasalic to loan club Atalanta.
The 25-year-old has enjoyed a two-year loan spell with the Italian club who have opted to activate their option to bring him in on a permanent basis (via Evening Standard).
The Blues will bank a handsome sum of £13.5million for Pasalic, who has never made a senior appearance for the West London outfit.
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According to the report, Atalanta have been impressed with the Croatian’s contribution to the club and want to see him stay on a long-term deal. Pasalic also seems to be enjoying life in Italy, tallying 15 goals and 13 assists in 75 appearances for the Serie A side (via Transfermarkt).
Prior to his loan move to Atalanta, Chelsea sent Pasalic to four different clubs on temporary deals whilst they didn’t have a place for him in London. The Blues signed him in 2014 from Croatian club Hadjuk Split, costing them a reported £2.25m at the time (via Transfermarkt)
Offloading a player who has never made a single senior appearance for more than £13m is a brilliant piece of business from Chelsea. The Blues can now look to pocket that money and put it towards their growing list of summer transfer targets.
One man in particular who Lampard is keen on bringing in is Kai Havertz. Roman Abramovich has even personally contacted the Bundesliga star to try and coax him into joining the club. However, Bayer Leverkusen are reportedly sticking to their £90m asking price, which means Chelsea have a lot of cash to find if they’re serious about the 21-year-old.
Havertz would suit the Blues down to the ground and will have the chance to link up with Germany teammates Timo Werner and Antonio Rudiger. £13.5m is exactly groundbreaking money but it’s certainly a start in raising the funds to make this move happen.
Chelsea are additionally looking at offloading N’Golo Kante, who could command a fee of about £71m, according to AS (via Daily Mail).
Do you think Chelsea are chipping away to sign Kai Havertz? Join the conversation in the comments below…
