Chelsea are in the running to sign Palermo playmaker Javier Pastore, casting into doubt the likelihood of Luka Modric’s transfer to Stamford Bridge.
Pastore is rated as one of the top prospects in Serie A and is set to cost the Blues upwards of £25million should he arrive in the Premier League.
However, Andre Villas-Boas’ side face competition for the player’s signature from French Ligue 1 outfit Paris Saint-Germain, who have recently been bankrolled by a consortium from Qatar.
Reports had claimed that PSG had been close to sealing a deal for the player, but Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini has claimed that these are wide of the mark.
He also claimed that the player’s agent could rendezvous with Chelsea to discuss terms.
"Tomorrow [Friday 29 July] his agent Marcelo Simonian will be in London to meet Chelsea," Zamparini told Stadio News.
He also told a radio station that reports that a deal with PSG had been completed were ‘an invention’, but admitted that the player looks certain to depart the club and head abroad.
Zamparini also claimed that offers for the player lodged between 40 and 50million Euros, though it is thought that Chelsea could land the player for less.
If Pastore does pen a deal at Stamford Bridge, a move by the Blues for Tottenham Hotspur’s Luka Modric could fail to materialise.
According to those looking ahead to Euro 2012 odds, Manchester United and Manchester City are also thought to be in the hunt for the Croatian.
Recently retired midfielder and United legend Paul Scholes recently offered a public backing of the transfer of Modric to the Red Devils, similarly to the way Chelsea captain John Terry praised the Spurs player.
Scholes claimed to Euro 2012 betting pundits that of the three apparent United targets, Modric, Samir Nasri and Wesley Sneijder, it was the Tottenham player he would most like to see in a red shirt.
World Football Daily
