Chelsea VERY CONFIDENT Of Signing Paul Pogba As Abramovich Gets Involved

Since the news filtered last week in that Chelsea were really keen on signing Juventus midfield giant Paul Pogba this summer, the report has now grown ever rife and the Sun even claimed a deal of £69m has been agreed between both clubs for the Frenchman’s services.

However, the latest that was exhumed about the transfer yesterday was that Juventus rejected Chelsea’s initial offer and that the west London club will return with around £70m for Pogba to keep up the pursuit until the transfer window slams shut.

The Blues are now oozing with confidence that they can sign Pogba and Everton defender John Stones this summer, according to reports. Give Me Sport cite the Independent who claimed that Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia is already in negotiations with the Serie A champions for Pogba who is valued at around £70m.

Stones on the other hand submitted a formal transfer request to Everton yesterday for him to make his move to Chelsea this summer. The 21-year old has grown so frustrated for the Toffees refusal to let him join the Blues, after the Merseyside club rejected three bids from the Premier League champions. Seeing that the window is only a week away from closing, he made a wise move and handed in the request before training yesterday and is now awaiting a response from Everton. There are also claims Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is willing to spend as much as £100m on Pogba and Stones in the next days.

Pogba, 22, is recognised as one of the leading central midfielders in world football and there is no gainsaying that his addition to the Blues’ midfield will be a stunning coup. If Juventus accept what Chelsea are offering, the British transfer record set by Pogba’s erstwhile club [Manchester United] – when they signed Angel Di Maria for £59.7m last summer –  will be broken.

Both Stones and Pogba have enjoyed rapid developments – with the former becoming Phil Jagielka’s regular partner at the heart of the Everton defence, and the latter helping Juventus winning three consecutive Scudettos since joining the Turin club on a free from United in 2012. Pogba is a hot property in Europe and top clubs including Barcelona and Manchester City are also keen on the France international midfielder.

In all fairness, both players will strengthen the Chelsea team considerably for the long term and the club chiefs have only a week to thrash out these deal.

The Blues are in need of a capable replacement for John Terry and manager Jose Mourinho believes Stones, 21, is the ideal candidate. The England international defender will also count as homegrown, and would only improve more under Mourinho, as the centre-back will have the chance of learning from Terry and Gary Cahill.

Pogba’s signing could make Mourinho revert back to a solid 4-3-3 formation, as witnessed in his first spell at Chelsea – with Michael Essien ‘The Bison’, Claude Makelele and Frank Lampard forming the three in a formidable midfield.