Chelsea make £34m transfer decision as new Marcelo Brozovic plan emerges
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Chelsea reportedly have no intention of buying £34m rated Saul Niguez when the Atletico Madrid midfielder’s loan spell at Stamford Bridge comes to an end. It initially appeared Thomas Tuchel’s side had made an impressively astute move when they loaned the Spaniard from Diego Simeone’s side on transfer deadline day.
After Chelsea had loaned out youngster Billy Gilmour to Norwich City, Saul looked to be the perfect experienced replacement for the young Scotsman.
However, after a nightmare debut which saw him substituted at half-time of Chelsea’s 3-0 home victory against Aston Villa, Niguez has been an unused substitute in six of the Blues’ last eight matches.
The 25-minute cameo he was afforded by Tuchel in the closing stages of the West Londoners’ 4-0 victory against Malmo was his first appearance since the 22nd of September.
To make matters even worse for the 26-year-old, he appears to have fallen behind Ruben Loftus-Cheek and even Ross Barkley in the midfield pecking order.
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And according to Larazon, Chelsea do not appear willing to pay the £34m fee to sign him on a permanent basis at the end of the season.
It is also claimed Chelsea are preparing a charm offensive to tempt Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovic to Stamford Bridge next season.
The experienced Croatian played a huge part in Inter Milan’s first Serie A title triumph since 2010 last season.
He is often considered to be one of the finest holding midfielders in Europe, and he will be available on a free transfer next summer, unless a new deal with Inter is agreed.
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This news will be grim reading to Saul, who has seen his stock rapidly plummet in recent years.
He departed the Wanda Metropolitano on loan this summer after a disagreement with manager Diego Simeone on his best position.
“I have had several conversations with Simeone about my positions, because it does not come from now, I have been like this for three years,” Saul said to youtuber Ilai Llanos (via Marca).
“I owe everything to him, I have a great relationship with him but he has to be selfish and think about the group.
“If he thinks that with me on the side the group performs better, he has to do it .
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“But in this, all parties win. The club and the coach bring in a player they wanted, and I went to a great club that loved me.”
After evolving Atletico’s formation from a 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2, Saul was regularly deployed at left-back by the Argentinean manager.
And while the reigning La Liga champions appeared to react well to the change of shape, Saul was less than enthusiastic about his new role.
“My head did not accept my new role of playing in a new position,” said the Spaniard.
“I felt stuck because I wasn’t playing in my position.”
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