Chelsea are reportedly ready to shell out €75m to sign Diogo Costa, despite the fact that he is heavily linked with a move to Manchester United.
At the end of the season, the Blues confirmed the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach, with the expectation that he would be in favor of obtaining a new number one.
However, it has been widely reported throughout June that Pochettino intends to maintain Kepa Arrizabalaga as his first-choice goalkeeper, with the Spaniard understood to be friendly with new goalkeeping coach Toni Jimenez.
Behind the scenes, there is thought to be a belief that Arrizabalaga can grow with the proper coaching setup, building on a strong 2022-23 season.
Nonetheless, with Edouard Mendy on the verge of leaving Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will be driven into the transfer market to buy a new goalkeeper.
The Senegal international is set to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli, with the club preferring to recruit an experienced replacement over relying on Marcus Bettinelli or American youngster Gabriel Slonina.
A BOLA reports that the West Londoners are interested in signing Portugal international Costa ahead of the new season.
According to the report, the Premier League club would insist on paying €75m (£64.12m) in three installments to meet FFP criteria.
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As things stand, it’s unclear whether Porto would entertain such a deal, with the Primeira Liga club supposedly rejecting an instalment plan when PSG signed Vitinha last summer.
Having said that, any offer for Costa would be nearly double that of the Portuguese midfielder while still meeting Porto’s need for that level of transfer cost.
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