A report by Italian media outlet Calciomercato (h/t football.london) reports that Chelsea are targeting Villarreal defender, Alfonso Pedraza, in the summer transfer market.
The Blues already have Emerson Palmieri, Marcos Alonso, and Ben Chilwell in that department but the club could still move for the Spaniard, who has previously played for Leeds United.
The report says that the 25-year-old star is also on the radar of clubs such as Bayer Leverkusen, Barcelona, AS Roma, AC Milan, and Napoli. And an attempt to land him could cost his potential buyers €15m in transfer fees.
According to a recent report by football.london earlier in July, and as cited by ASBTF, Davide Zappacosta, Emerson and Alfonso are on the radar of Inter Milan.
If the aforementioned players are to leave, then links with Alfonso make sense for the Blues.
Marcos and Ben both shared gametime under Thomas Tuchel last campaign. The German plays three centre-halves with two wing-backs at Chelsea, and he did not outright trust Chilwell considering the English star had to share starts with Alonso.
If the former Fiorentina ace is not at Stamford Bridge next term, then a new acquisition only makes sense. Alfonso can be that man because apart from playing as a left-back, the ace has largely played down the left-wing during his professional career.
That indicates that Pedraza likes to attack as well, something that the west Londoners can use to their advantage if they manage to land. The transfer fee also sounds reasonable for a 25-year-old star.
But Chelsea have to be quick to ward off interest from other clubs. If the likes of Blaugrana the Rossoneri are serious about Pedraza, the Premier League side could face some difficulty in landing the Spanish defender.
Elsewhere, Leeds United put together an interesting presentation for Chelsea ace Conor Gallagher in an attempt to get an edge in the transfer hunt for the signature of the Crystal Palace and Newcastle United transfer target, according to football.london.
The Whites landed midfield starlet Lewis Bate from the Blues on Thursday on a three-year deal, beating off league rivals West Ham, Southampton and Liverpool for his signature.
They are now trying to complete a double deal from the capital club as they’re looking to rope in Lewis’ former Chelsea team-mate Gallagher on a loan deal.
