Chelsea are reportedly set to do battle with Manchester City during the January transfer window as both Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola are interested in signing Juventus left-back Alex Sandro.
This comes according to TransferMarketWeb (via the Daily Star). Sandro, who was heavily linked with a move to Chelsea during this summer’s window, is valued at £60 million by his current club — and there could be a bidding war for him following the festive period.
Sandro, 26, joined Juventus in 2015 after 135 appearances and two league titles with Portuguese side Porto. Since his move to Turin, he has won Serie A twice, Coppa Italia twice and played a huge part in his side’s run to the 2016-17 Champions League final, which the Italian side lost 4-1 to Real Madrid; he notably put in a marvelous performance over both legs against Barcelona on the way to the final, helping to keep two clean sheets and neutralising the threat of Lionel Messi.
It is thought that Juventus won’t let the Brazilian international leave the club in January even if Chelsea or City do stump up the £60 million asking price.
Chelsea brought in Torino right-back Davide Zappacosta this summer as well as Roma’s Antonio Rudiger, to strengthen the back line. The potential signing of Alex Sandro would bring the club’s full-back complement up to six, with Marcos Alonso, Victor Moses, Kenedy, Cesar Azpilicueta and Zappacosta all rotating in the wide positions so far this season.
