But according to The Telegraph, Chelsea are also exploring the possibility of a late effort to sign Saul from Atletico Madrid.
The Telegraph says Chelsea are considering dipping back into the transfer market to bring in Atletico Madrid’s wantaway midfielder Saul on loan.
The 26-year-old midfielder has made 229 La Liga appearances for Atletico Madrid since coming through the academy and making his first-team debut in 2012.
Saul has won the La Liga, the Copa del Rey, Europa League twice, Supercopa de Espana and the UEFA Super Cup with the Colchoneros, but plenty of rumours have circulated this summer that the No8 wants to leave.
Thomas Tuchel has loaned out promising youngster Billy Gilmour to Norwich City and is expected to let Tiemoue Bakayako, Danny Drinkwater and Ross Barkley leave in the upcoming week. The futures of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ethan Ampadu are unknown.
Therefore, bringing in another midfielder on loan or permanently could be seen as a necessity.
The European champions have already completed their major signing this month by landing Romelu Lukaku in a £97.5 million deal from Inter.
However, the report claims that Chelsea’s bid to sign the Spain international hinges on whether the club can trim Thomas Tuchel’s other midfield options who are not part of the first-team plans.
Earlier this summer, reports claimed that Manchester United had been in talks with Saul’s agent to discuss a potential move to United.
It’s understood that Atletico were willing to allow the midfielder to leave if their €45m (£38m) valuation was met.
Saul has played in both of Atletico’s games in the new La Liga season so far and the Spanish champions have registered wins against Celta Vigo and Elche.
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