CHELSEA have made a £35million offer for Barcelona star Fermin Lopez.
The offer was sent to the LaLiga giants immediately after the 2-0 win over Fulham.
The Blues were left rocked during the game as striker Liam Delap was forced off with a hamstring injury after just 14 minutes.
The club are also still reeling after their move for Xavi Simons was hijacked by London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Nicolas Jackson has been called back before sealing his move to Bayern Munich following the Delap injury.
While the bid for Lopez, 22, has been made as the club is looking for an alternative to Simons.
Chelsea are yet to receive a response from Barcelona on whether or not their offer has been accepted.
They will face competition for the attacking midfielder from Newcastle United who have also been credited with an interest.
Reports in Spain have claimed that the Magpies are willing to blow Chelsea’s bid out of the water.
El Chiringuito TV have suggested that Newcastle would be open to parting with up to £87MILLION for the Spaniard.
But SunSport understands that Chelsea are confident of sealing a deal for a much lower fee.
This would be more than double the offer of the Stamford Bridge club.
Lopez has already made 89 appearances for the Catalonians since breaking into the team.
He has scored 19 goals and notched ten assists in that time.
Manager Hansi Flick thinks Lopez will stay, but did admit that he does not know what will happen before the end of the transfer window.
Speaking today, he said: “At the moment, he is here.
Chelsea’s transfer deals
IN
- Joao Pedro – from Brighton – £60m
- Jamie Gittens – from Dortmund – £52m
- Jorell Hato – from Ajax – £37m
- Liam Delap – from Ipswich – £30m
- Estevao – from Palmeiras – £54m
- Dario Essugo – from Sporting Lisbon – £18.5m
- Kendry Paez – from Independiente – £17.25m
- Mamadou Sarr – from Strasbourg – £12m
TOTAL – £280.75m
OUT
- Christopher Nkunku – to AC Milan – £38m
- Noni Madueke – to Arsenal – £52m
- Joao Felix – to Al-Nassr – £43.7m
- Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – to Everton – £30m
- Renato Veiga – to Villarreal – £26m
- Djordje Petrovic – to Bournemouth – £25m
- Lesley Ugochukwu – to Burnley – £23m
- Carney Chukwuemeka – to Dortmund £24m
- Armando Broja – to Burnley – £15m
- Bashir Humphreys – to Burnley – £10m
- Mathis Amougou – to Strasbourg – £12.5m
- Kepa Arrizabalaga – to Arsenal – £5m
- Marcus Bettinelli – to Man City – £2m
TOTAL – £306.2m
“I spoke with him. I’m convinced that he will stay, but at the end I don’t know what happens. We have to wait. I am really happy when the market is closed.
“I told him my opinion, but it’s between him and me. Sometimes players have other thoughts.
“Around the players are also a lot of people, who know maybe more than we know.
“It’s a big business. I have to focus on my team and I am really happy Fermín plays for Barca.
“He’s a really important player for us. He showed that last season. His style is different to other players. He can help us a lot.”
The Blues have already been very active in the transfer market this summer.
Enzo Maresca has seen the likes of Delap, Joao Pedro, Jorell Hato, Estevao become members of his first-team squad.
While the likes of Noni Madueke, Joao Felix, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Renato Veiga are among those who have been sold.
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