Chelsea facing French fight in €43m playmaker chase

Chelsea are facing a fight from Paris Saint-Germain in their pursuit of Javier Pastore, with Palermo claiming they have received bids from both clubs for the star playmaker.

"At the moment we are waiting and will make a decision in the next few dats, after [Thursday's] Europa League game against Thun," Palermo sporting director Sean Sogliano said.

"We have received interesting offers from Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea."


 

Last week it seemed to be a done deal for Pastore to leave for France, but Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini insisted a deal was yet to be finalised.

"[On Friday] his agent Marcelo Simonian will be in London to meet Chelsea," Zamparini told Stadio News.

"This news [of Pastore joining PSG] is an invention. The only thing that is certain is that he is going abroad.”

The news gave Chelsea fans hope that Andre Villas-Boas might be ready to complete his first big signing for the club since taking over the managerial post in June.

But Paris Saint-Germain are still reportedly 'very close' to agreeing to terms with Pastore, so if Chelsea were to do a deal for the Argentinian, worth €43 million according to FourFourTwo, it will need to be done very quickly.