Chelsea have blasted open the January transfer window to generate a flurry of excitement and are continuing their splurge, with central midfielder Leandro Paredes seemingly the marked man this time around; the Argentine reportedly agreeing terms with Chelsea and undergoing a medical to fill that Cesc Fabregas-shaped hole now in Maurizio Sarri’s squad.
With the sensational purchase of Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund – where he will remain until the end of the season – mere days into the new year, and generated more attention by allowing Fabregas to leave for an Arsenal reunion with Thierry Henry at Ligue 1 side Monaco.
Now the Blues are commanding that all eyes remain on them this January with yet another eye-popping move that should see their spending sail past the £100million just halfway into the month.
The first month of the calendar has been memorably the stomping ground of the five-time Premier League champions – think procuring Fernando Torres from rivals Liverpool in 2011, Nemanja Matic in 2014, or Juan Cuadrado a year later.
The Mail claims that Chelsea fell way short with their opening £26.8million bid to Paredes’ current club Zenit St. Petersburg and are expected to increase their offer to the desired £36million to bring him to Stamford Bridge.
The 24-year-old Paredes, who began his career in his homeland with Boca Juniors, moved to Zenit from Serie A side Roma 18 months ago, going on to make over 60 appearances for the club, scoring 10 goals and provided 15 assists.
Paredes has also gained nine caps for country but failed to make the squad which travelled to Russia last summer.
His apparently imminent move to West London continues a frantic transfer window at Chelsea which should see Alvaro Morata finally move away from the club.