Chelsea Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Juan Cuadrado and Douglas Costa

It seems that Juan Cuadrado is there for the taking for Chelsea, providing they’re willing to shell out the £26.8 million to Fiorentina that matches his release clause.

As reported by Simon Jones of the MailOnline, the Blues have lodged a bid of £20 million along with additional bonuses in an attempt to bring the Colombian winger to Stamford Bridge. But as noted in the article, La Viola’s manager Vincenzo Montella has insisted he won’t go for a penny less than the aforementioned trigger figure:

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The issue around Cuadrado is very simple: he has a buy-out clause, which was written into his contract along with the club. If a team comes along and pays it, and the player wants to leave, then he can go. 

This clause expires during the last few days of the transfer window, but as far as we are concerned the player is not for sale.

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Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe ran the rule over Cuadrado recently, explaining why he’d be an ideal purchase for a team in the January transfer window:

Indeed, the winger is a player who bristles with irrepressible dynamism and attacking endeavour whenever he sets out onto a football pitch. If he was to be deployed on the right of midfield for the Blues then not only would he add another fascinating facet to Chelsea’s attacking forays, but he’d have no problem putting in the industry required to thrive in a Jose Mourinho team.

His best attribute is his scintillating dribbling however, per WhoScored.com:

As noted by David Amoyal of gianlucadimarzio.com, this deal hinges a lot on whether Chelsea decide to offload Andre Schurrle:

It’s a potential scenario that Bleacher Report’s Andy Brassell recently took a look at:

Schurrle is a fine player, but in a straight comparison between him and the Colombian, it’s the latter that comes out on top. Cuadrado boasts an X-factor to his play that not many players in world football possess and to get him on board midseason would lend this Blues team some major impetus moving into the second half of the season.

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For a club as flush as Chelsea, an extra £6 million or so is pocket change and if the player is willing to make the move to London, it’d be a major surprise if the aforementioned figure wasn’t matched by the end of the current transfer window. But if the deal isn’t feasible, it seems as though Mourinho may have been making contingency plans.

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That could lead the Portuguese to Shakhtar Donetsk’s Douglas Costa, a player who remains very much in Chelsea’s sights according to Jones of the MailOnline. Here’s a look at why the Blues have reportedly bid £18.7 million for the 24-year-old:

Ed Aarons of The Guardian further elaborated on the player’s situation:

Per Jones’ piece, Costa has already confirmed that Chelsea have been in touch regarding a deal, citing a potential move to Stamford Bridge as a "dream." But while the raw, direct attributes of Cuadrado would bring a refreshed edge to the Blues’ attacking exploits, the Brazilian is a player who would add more of the same.

Nonetheless, Mourinho recently welcomed Costa’s open willingness to come and play for the Stamford Bridge club, per George Ankers of Goal.com:

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I am always happy when a player tells us that he would like to play for my club.

I am always happy so the reaction for Douglas Costa is the reaction of being happy with his comments and every Douglas Costa in the world that would like to play for Chelsea ... these kind of feelings are always welcome.

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Costa’s an intricate, effervescent talent and at this juncture he’s a player who looks ready to make a move to a major European club. But with Eden Hazard, Oscar, Willian, Cesc Fabregas and potentially Cuadrado all vying for three places behind the front man, Costa could well find himself in a similar position to Mohamed Salah or Schurrle in 12 months time.

It'd be tough for the Shakhtar man to turn down a move to join up with those aforementioned talents, though. If the Blues do cash in on Salah and Schurrle, Mourinho will want to replace both of those voids, so perhaps it wouldn't be a massive surprise if we were to see both Cuadrado and Costa donning Chelsea blue come the end of the window.