Chelsea Are Among 3 PL Clubs Pursuing 31 Year Old Who Could Become A Free Agent Next Year
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Chelsea are interested in signing Atletico Madrid’s Marcos Llorente on a free transfer next summer, according to reports.
The 31-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season, and TEAMtalk claim that the Blues are one of three Premier League clubs who are keen on securing his services, along with Liverpool and Manchester City.
Llorente will turn 32 in December, but despite having a policy of recruiting younger players, Xabi Alonso’s side are less restrictive in terms of age profile when it comes to free agents.
They have attempted to recruit the likes of Virgil van Dijk in the past, and they also snapped up Jordan Henderson during the summer transfer window.
Llorente would be a midfield target
The Spanish international has played most of his football as a right-back in recent years, but he started his career as a central midfielder.
You would, therefore, assume that Chelsea are interested in deploying Llorente in the middle of the park, as that is where they are currently light of options, following the departure of Enzo Fernandez on Deadline Day.
Alonso already has the likes of Marco Palestra, Reece James and Malo Gusto to play on the right flank.
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Chelsea will have to persuade the player
At the moment, TEAMtalk report that Atletico are confident of tying down Llorente to a new contract, although no agreement has been reached yet.
The Spanish giants have left things to the last minute in terms of negotiations. Llorente can hold direct talks with foreign clubs about signing a pre-contract agreement in just over three months.
It is very likely that Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City have already begun discussions with his agent to determine the Spaniard’s openness to making the switch to English football next year.