Chelsea are close to offloading Mario Pasalic to Atalanta, according to Fabrizio Romano.The midfielder signed for the Blues in 2014 but has not made a single senior appearance for the West London side.During that time he's enjoyed loan spells with the likes of Monaco, AC Milan, Spartak Moscow and most recently Atalanta where he's spent the last season.As part of his loan deal with the Serie A side, Chelsea inserted a £15million option to buy the player - something which, according to the Atalanta president, they are keen to take up.

He said: "Atalanta sport director Giovanni Sartori just confirmed to Sky Sports: 'We’re going to buy Mario Pasalic on a permanent deal from Chelsea. We want to use the buy option'. €15M to Chelsea soon."

While selling a player who hasn't featured for the first team is unlikely to be met with much sadness from Chelsea fans, it is a move that could pave the way for a more exciting move.

The Blues are keen on a summer switch for Kai Havertz, with the 20-year-old valued at around £75million.

Recouping a fee in the region of £15million will be a big boost for the club and could see them move a step closer to funding a deal for the Bayer Leverkusen skipper.

GIVEMESPORT'S Phil Spencer says...

The transfer window isn't even open and we're already gripped by what is going on.

Chelsea have been quickest out of the blocks with two huge signings all-but wrapped up, and it seems that they aren't finished yet.

In fact, they're only just getting started.

If they can tie up a deal for Kai Havertz that would one heck of a coup - especially if they are beating some of Europe's biggest clubs to the punch.