Pogba to Chelsea: Blues set to smash British spending record with £70m midfielder and £34m John Stones
The Blues are confident that Juventus will sell Pogba for £70m while hope for a breakthrough in their £34m pursuit of Stones
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Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea are believed to be supremely confident of securing the most expensive spending spree in British history by completing the deals for John Stones and Paul Pogba within the next five days to take their summer outlay to an incredible £160m.
The Blues went into the 2015/16 season having looked a little thin on the new signings front, having replaced Petr Cech with £8m Asmir Begovic and a season-long loan of Radamel Falcao from Monaco.
However, a difficult 2-2 draw with Swansea was followed by a humiliating 3-0 drubbing at Manchester City, and prompted the Blues into launching serious investment in the transfer market. Baba Rahman immediately signed from Augsburg after the City defeat in a £17.7m deal, while a move for Pedro came out of nowhere as the Blues beat Manchester United to the £21.1m forward.
Yet that spending looks sure to continue, as Chelsea officials believe Italian champions Juventus are willing to let Pogba leave for £70m – a fee that would make him the most expensive transfer in British history surpassing the £59.7m that United paid for Angel Di Maria last summer.
Whether Juventus do choose to sell remains to be seen, given that they will have left themselves very little time to use that money to strengthen the squad before Tuesday’s transfer deadline.
Furthermore, Chelsea are hoping to reach a breakthrough in the hunt to land Everton defender John Stones. The 21-year-old saw a surprise transfer request rejected by the Merseyside club, with Everton manager Roberto Martinez reiterating that the England international is not for sale.
But a £34m fee is currently being discussed by the two clubs, according to The Mirror, and a move could yet go through before the 6pm cut-off next Tuesday.
Should both deals go through for the expected fees, Chelsea summer spending would exceed United’s £150m spent on signing seven new players last summer, and would also eclipse Manchester City’s outlay this year.
Having already landed Raheem Sterling, Nicolas Otamendi, Fabian Delph and Patrick Roberts for a combined £96m, City have former Chelsea midfielder Kevin De Bruyne in their sights, and The Independent understands that a £58m transfer is on the verge of being sealed to take City's spending to £154m – making De Bruyne the second most expensive deal in British history unless Chelsea can pull off the move for Pogba that will land the 22-year-old Frenchman an incredible £300,000-a-week contract.
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