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Chelsea are hoping to sign Inter Milan defender Milan Škriniar, although they face a potential battle for his services with London rivals Tottenham.
The Slovakian international has been a virtual ever present for Inter since joining them from Sampdoria in 2017, and has made 215 appearances for them in all competitions.
He was a key component of the side that won the Serie A title under Antonio Conte a year ago.
Any deal though may be some way off as Chelsea’s preliminary enquiries suggest that there is a gap between the two clubs when it comes to valuation.
Škriniar, though, is about to enter the final year of his current contract, which means that he is potentially in a strong position if he does want a move to the Premier League and London.
He can afford to wait and see if Inter are prepared to offer him an improved new deal, or he can just run his contract down, leave for free at the end of the season, knowing he will be in line for a heft signing-on fee from whoever he signs for eventually.
The economics of that may persuade Inter it is better to sell him this summer.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.