The Newcastle United midfielder has been strongly linked to Spurs, but now the Blues may be set to trump their London rivals like they did for Willian in 2013.
Portugal’s Adrien Silva in action with France’s Moussa Sissoko
Chelsea are looking to gatecrash Tottenham‘s reported pursuit of Newcastle United midfielder Moussa Sissoko, according to the Telegraph.
The Magpies star is yet to feature for Rafa Benitez’s side this season following their relegation to the Championship, and has been closely linked to North London despite the two club’s being some way apart in terms of valuation.
With Newcastle said to be asking for £30 million, and Tottenham reluctant to go beyond £20 million, notorious big spenders Chelsea have come in and flexed their financial muscles according to the Telegraph report, which could end up seeing Sissoko heading somewhere else in London than might have been expected – a similar story to what occurred a few summers ago.
Chelsea’s Willian in action
The news, if true, won’t go down well at Spurs, who had agreed to sign Willian from Anzhi Makhachkala in 2013 only for the Brazilian to make a late switch and head to Stamford Bridge, reportedly after direct intervention from Roman Abrahmovic (Guardian).
Things are not that far gone with Sissoko with talks stalling over a fee, but the France international still seemed to have emerged as the player most likely to make headlines in moving to White Hart Lane on deadline day.
Sky Sports are one of a number of sources who have covered the North Londoner’s interest in the powerful 27-year-old, with a swelling of expectation that a deal could happen over the last day or two, and though Tottenham may have stepped down their interest after failing to move closer to an agreement over a transfer fee, Sissoko could still end up moving to the capital with Chelsea, a club who have often adopted a much less frugal transfer policy.
The French FA tweeted that they had released Sissoko from international duty so he could discuss his club future, suggesting things could be happening.
The Blues are particularly busy this deadline day, with links to former defender David Luiz and Fiorentina fullback Mikel Alonso, and the loan departure of Christian Atsu to Newcastle United (Sky Sports).
If Chelsea do manage to sign the two defenders and Sissoko, it will be a huge outlay and impressive strengthening for Antonio Conte’s squad.
But Tottenham supremo Daniel Levy, and indeed the club’s supporters, may admit that it is better to step away from negotiations rather than pay more than they feel the player is worth in a battle with Chelsea.
Moussa Sissoko celebrates scoring for Newcastle United
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