CHELSEA will charge Inter an extra £9million to sign Marcos Alonso – the same amount boss Antonio Conte won from Chelsea in a bitter legal battle.
Alonso has been strongly linked with a move away this January, with Milan the likely destination.
Marcos Alonso won the premier league in Conte’s first seasonCredit: AP:Associated Press
The Blues want a whopping £35million for left back Alonso, 28, who has fallen out of favour at Stamford Bridge.
He has not been involved in seven of the last eight league games, but did win a penalty in the 2-0 victory over Spurs.
Now owner Roman Abramovich has reportedly added an extra £9million to the asking price, after Chelsea were forced to fork out the same amount to old boss Conte following his sacking.
Conte is now manager of the Italian giants.
It is believed that Inter may offer a loan deal to avoid paying the extra sum.
The main cause of the dispute was that Conte believed he should be paid in full the final year of his three-season deal as manager – worth £9m.
Conte won the Premier League in his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge, but the final 12 months of his campaign saw a number of fall-outs behind the scenes.
His high-profile spat with striker Diego Costa resulted in him being sold to Atletico Madrid, with Chelsea believing the row had dramatically reduced how much they could charge a club to sell him.
The former Italy manager joined Inter in May after being sacked by Chelsea in July 2018.
Antonio Conte wants a re-union with Marcos Alonso at InterCredit: Reuters
Fiorentina is another likely destination for Alonso should Inter refuse to pay up.
Alonso joined Chelsea in 2016 and has since won the Premier League, FA Cup and Europa League.
Chelsea are looking to add a left back to their ranks in January, with a move for Leiceister City’s Ben Chilwell on Frank Lampard’s radar.
Lampard has been praised for his trust in youth players this season, but a poor run of form has seen Spurs bridge the gap to fourth-placed Chelsea to just three points.
The Blues have lost three of their last five league games, leaving the race for the top four wide open.
A London derby at the Emirates on December 29 concludes Chelsea’s 2019, before a trip to the south coast on New Year’s day to face Brighton.
Chilwell has impressed for high-flying Leicester CityCredit: AP:Associated Press
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
