Chelsea are all geared up to seriously rival Manchester United’s pitch for Porto’s hot goalkeeper Diogo Costa while Erik ten Hag is in a bit of a dither juggling his options with Andre Onana also pinging on United’s radar.
The Blues have set their sights on Costa and are ready to pay £64.5m to sign him despite ten Hag’s keen interest in the Porto goalkeeper, with the United gaffer having tracked him for several months and have finally rustled up a bid in a resolve to iron out their own goalkeeper situation. David de Gea’s future is still in a gray area and the Spanish goalkeeper is set to become a free agent in a matter of days.
United had tabled a new offer to Costa while waiting for an answer from De Gea. Should the Spaniard leave, Costa would sit high on their list of replacements as his asking price is apparently not an issue, as per the Daily Mail. Simultaneously, Inter Milan’s Andre Onana – who had worked with Erik ten Hag at Ajax – is also another prime target with talks between the two parties currently being planned.
While Chelsea did have Onana on their radar, the Blues recently opted to refocus their attention on a deal to sign Costa and are preparing to pay his release clause in instalments, according to Portuguese newspaper A Bola.
In the event that a deal comes through for the Blues, then United could be left sucking on their thumb, especially if the Onana deal with Inter does not materialize and De Gea also decides to exit Old Trafford. Adding to this potential nightmare, Dean Henderson, previously No. 2 to De Gea, is also set to leave on a permanent basis.
Chelsea would no doubt be mindful that their FFP situation will restrict them in the transfer market but are hopeful that three instalments of £21.5m will be enough to convince Porto to deliver Costa on a silver platter.
The Blues are indeed hopeful as the same method worked well to their advantage when they secured the British record deal for Enzo Fernandez in January.