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Chelsea close in on deals for Nicolo Barella and Leandro Paredes as Fabregas agrees exit
CHELSEA are closing in on deals for midfielders Nicolo Barella and Leandro Paredes.
The pair will come in as Cesc Fabregas departs for Monaco after agreeing a three year deal.
The Fabregas deal is on hold until Chelsea find a replacement.
And Sky Sports claim they are close to making a double signing for Barella and Paredes.
Barella is valued at £45m by Cagliari while Paredes’ fee is unspecified.
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Chelsea believe one of the players will be signed by next week while the other could take longer to complete.
Chelsea have already spent £58m this month with the signing of Christian Pulisic, who has returned Borussia Dortmund for the rest of the season.
They are expected to allow several fringe players to leave with Gary Cahill, Danny Drinkwater, Victor Moses, Davide Zappacosta and Fabregas all potentially on the move.
That could leave a hole in Maurizio Sarri’s side as he looks to overhaul the squad.
He is desperate however to hang on to Callum Hudson-Odoi who is stalling on a new deal with just 18 months of his current one left to run.
The winger is wanted by German side Bayern Munich and could leave for around £30m if he is not guaranteed more games.
Sarri also wants to add another forward after growing frustrated with Alvaro Morata’s goal-shy form.
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Morata has been linked with an exit as well but would need to be replaced with Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema linked.
Callum Wilson is another on the radar at Stamford Bridge but any deal for the Bournemouth man would likely not be until the summer.