Chelsea Open Transfer Talks For Liverpool Target

Chelsea are hoping to steal a march on their rivals in the race for highly rated Cagliari midfielder Nicolo Barella ahead of the upcoming winter transfer window in the next few weeks.

This is because the Blues have started negotiations with Italian Serie A side Cagliari in their quest to sign the 21-year-old as reported by Sardegna Sport.

It was also revealed that Spanish La Liga giants Atletico Madrid made a €35m bid for the player during the summer but the offer was not enough for Cagliari to part ways with their prized asset.

A fee of around €45m could be enough for Chelsea to sign the player.

• How has it been for these former Southampton players

Italian international star Nicolo Barela broke into the Cagliari first team at the start of last season and he went on to become a key player before the end of the last campaign.

Barella scored six goals in 35 appearances in all competitions.

He has made more tackles (74) since the start of last season more than anyone in the Italian top flight division except Argentine midfielder Lucas Biglia (87) and Brazilian star Allan (82).

Lucas Biglia plays for seven-time European champions AC Milan, while Allan is on the payroll of Napoli.
Apart from Chelsea, Liverpool and Atletico Madrid, Nicolo Barella has been linked with clubs like Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.