Chelsea have been eyeing a move for Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes but the player seems to have gotten away from Frank Lampard- as per rumours.
The 22-year-old has been one of the best defenders in Ligue 1 this season having racked up 24 appearances for Lille and a number of clubs were said to be interested in signing him during the summer.
But no sooner did the Lille president claim that Gabriel Magalhaes is about to head for the exit doors, a Premier League club seems to have agreed on a transfer.
“It’s true that he would like to go and try something else out. We haven’t taken that decision yet, but he’s received a number of offers,” he told Sky Sports, as reported.
“I feel he’s closer to one club than others, but nothing’s done yet so we’ll see.”
As per ESPN, Chelsea though are not the club who are about to sign the defender, in fact, it’s Everton.
The report said: “Chelsea and Arsenal are battling to sign promising Lille centre-back Gabriel, while Everton are pushing hard to reach an agreement, sources have told ESPN.
“The 22-year-old was having a great season in Ligue 1 before the suspension of the league due to coronavirus and is in high demand all over Europe, with particular interest coming from the Premier League.
“Chelsea were optimistic they could get the deal done, as reported by ESPN last week, but Everton are now leading the chase. Like Chelsea boss Frank Lampard, Carlo Ancelotti has also been very impressed by the left-footed defender, who is aggressive and very good on the ball too.
“Sources have told ESPN that Everton have made a £30 million offer for the Brazilian — the minimum Lille are willing to accept. However, the French side are hopeful Chelsea will formally enter the race with a counter-offer.”
Antonio Rudiger is badly in need of a new partner after the likes of Tomori and Kurt Zouma have both failed to impress so far this season meaning this will surely be a big blow for Chelsea manager Frank Lampard and his plans to bring in a new centre-back during the summer.
Gabriel Magalhaes has all the qualities of succeeding at Stamford Bridge but it seems the player has chosen to move to Everton, possibly to play under Carlo Ancelotti.
As far as we understand, this could be curtains for Chelsa in this transfer race but there is still an outside chance that the Blues might try and outbid Everton in this deal.
