Chelsea are looking to secure the services of AS Roma midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini. It is being reported that the Blues are among a whole host of Premier League clubs looking to land the Italian international. Antonio Conte’s side are set to be joined by Manchester City and Manchester United in pursuit of the 21-year-old’s signature. A report in the English press claims that the Roma midfielder has a buy-out clause of £21m which makes him a hugely attractive proposition.
All three Premier League clubs are keeping tabs on the player with AS Roma desperate to sign him up on a new long-term deal. Pellegrini has made great strides in his development since he graduated from the AS Roma academy in 2015. He also played for Sassulo and made 54 appearances for the club, scoring 11 goals and making 9 assists. His displays for Sassulo impressed Roma enough for him to be re-signed at the Stadio Olimpico.
Some of the Premier League heavyweights are now ready to pounce on his signature as he has immense potential to be the next big star of Italian football.
Chelsea are currently in third place in the Premier League standings with Manchester City running away with the title with a massive 16 points lead at the top. Antonio Conte might have realised that they need to invest more in the future in their quest to bridge the gap between themselves and Pep Guardiola’s side. The addition of Pellegrini will definitely be a big boost to the Blues’ midfield with Tiémoué Bakayoko failing to impress this season at Stamford Bridge. Moreover, the Italian midfielder can be a long-term replacement for Cesc Fabregas who is currently 30 and struggling with the tempo of some league matches.
The 21-year-old has made 21 appearances for AS Roma in this campaign and has scored 2 goals and made 3 assists so far in all competitions. He has already earned an international cap for the Italian senior team and featured for the full 90 minutes in their 5-0 victory over Liechtenstein as part of a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying group stage match.
Pellegrini has a bright future and will undoubtedly be an asset for any of his potential suitors. However, there are hardly any players in the last few years who has been able to break into the Chelsea first-team due to the club adopting a policy of loaning out players to help them continue with their development. So Chelsea may not be his ideal destination if he wants to switch clubs in favour of greener pastures.
It remains to be seen whether the Blues of London are successful in fending off strong competition from the Manchester clubs in pursuit of his signature.
