Antonio Conte 1st action? Ivanovic to Roma, Radja Nainggolan to Chelsea in a swap deal
Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan could be the next name to echo around Stamford Bridge, as Chelsea weigh up their move for the Belgian national after new boss Antonio Conte reportedly declared his interest in the midfielder.
According to our trusted sources, Chelsea’s reported pursuit of the Belgian midfielder has been given a boost after the Roma director, Mauro Baldissoni, said no player is “indispensable” when it comes to rebuilding the squad this summer.
The report dispatched Baldissoni’s comments to Mediaset Premium in which he said any player could be sold to fund the addition of new stars: “There’s nothing indispensable. A player could be sold to bring in fresh funds and sign different figures, but it would in any case be a choice. We will make choices within the club with the perspective of coach and players to see how we can reinforce and improve Roma.”
The reports went ahead to reveal that it will cost Chelsea £35m if they want to snap up Nainggolan this summer. The £35million that Roma value Nainggolan at may aid any attempts to close the gap on Juventus, a concrete reason why Baldissoni admitted that every player in the current side has their price.
Nainggolan has developed to be an essential player in Roma’s squad since he moved from Cagliari to the Stadio Olimpico in 2014. The 27-year-old is a top-quality box-to-box midfielder and could solve some of the problems that have emerged at Chelsea this season with the drop in form of Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas.
Meanwhile, other reports have emerged that Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic could move to Roma this summer after the Blues purportedly made Italian giants alert of the defender’s availability during a secret meeting in London last week.
Besides, the Serie A side’s director of football Walter Sabatini was photographed in London last week with Chelsea agents, suggesting that talks between the two clubs were advancing swiftly in a swap deal involving Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic and Belgian midfielder Radja Nainggolan.
Ivanovic, who moved to Stamford Bridge in 2008m has one year remaining on his current contract with the west London club, while Nainggolan still has four years to run on his contract with the Italian club.
Although Baldissoni has come out to address the rumors, there is a high possibility that the swap deal may be successful after other reports emerged that there could also be a high-profile departure from Chelsea with Real Madrid almost reaching for a deal with Chelsea to sign Eden Hazard for £32 million.
Baldissoni said: “Just because someone takes a photo while you’re at Chelsea, people assumed all sorts of things,” he added. “They don’t know he could’ve visited Arsenal, Tottenham and other clubs to find out who is on the market and who isn’t. Besides, he was there accompanied by Mohamed Salah’s agent and that is a player we will be buying outright this summer.”