Chelsea have opened fresh talks with Napoli over Albanian defender Elseid Hysaj. According to reports from Calciomercato, the Blues are trying to negotiate a deal for the young right back as they think his current €50m release clause is a bit too much.
Hysaj has shared a good relationship with Maurizio Sarri during his time in Naples and hence the Blues want him to reunite with his former manager in West London. The reports currently suggest that the Blues are looking for a right back and is eyeing a move for the Napoli man considering he is very well known by manager Sarri.
Reports in the Sun suggests that the Blues are lining up a €20m bid for the Napoli defender. Sarri desperately needs a proper right back so that he can shift Cesar Azpilicueta in a more central position in defence. However, the Serie A outfit wants the 24-year old defender to stay in Stadio San Paoli and are set to offer him with a new deal. Although interest from Premier League may compel the Albanian international to reject the advances and follow his former manager to Chelsea.
Hysaj has been a regular starter for the Partenopei and under Carlo Ancelotti, the 24-year old right back has registered one assist in the 14 Serie A matches for Napoli.
There were rumours when Sarri left Naples to join Chelsea last season that along with Jorginho the Italian tactician will also bring in Elseid Hysaj from his former club but the deal did not go through and hence only the Brazil-born Italian midfielder managed to make it through with his gaffer to West London.
Sarri has had a fine start to life at the Premier League as his side were the first team to beat the high flying Manchester City in their last league fixture. Chelsea are currently in the fourth position in the league with only two defeats to their name.
Adding to the transfer report, the same story suggested that Sarri would have to offload Italian right-back Davide Zappacosta who has fallen down the radar under the Italian tactician. The departure of Zappacosta will pave the way for Hysj to make the switch to Stamford Bridge. Clubs like Lazio and AS Roma are interested in the Italian international and will get the 26-year old for a fairly decent transfer fee.
Regarding Hysaj Calciomercato also claims that the Blues could place a unique offer on the table for the Napoli defender, by which Maurizio Sarri and Chelsea will sign the player in January itself. However, the 24-year old right back will be loaned out to Napoli till the end of the season and will arrive in Stamford Bridge only after the end of this season.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side who recently lost out to Liverpool at Anfield in their UEFA Champions League fixture failed to qualify for the next round despite being top of the table before the match started. However, Hysaj did not feature in the thrilling affair as he kept as an unused sub by Carlo Ancelotti who went with a more defensive minded right back, Nikola Maksimovic.
Nevertheless, Elseid Hysaj is a pivotal player for Napoli as the Partenopei are looking to give a better account of themselves in the UEFA Europa League.
The likes of David Luiz and co. are set to leave west London at the end of the current campaign it seems, with the Brazilian speaking about his future recently. It will be interesting to see which players are signed, when that happens.
