Chelsea Transfer News: Juan Cuadrado to Juventus, Neymar Bid Revealed

Chelsea are ready to officially rid themselves of transfer flop Juan Cuadrado. The Blues have also been credited with trying to sign Brazilian star Neymar Jr. back in 2010.

But after missing that opportunity, the Stamford Bridge club won't want to waste the chance to get Cuadrado's name off their books for good. Fortunately, Serie A giants Juventus are ready to oblige.

Cuadrado is currently on loan at the Turin outfit, and Juve will pay as much as €20 million to make the Colombian winger's stay permanent, according to Italian publication La Stampa (h/t Sport Witness).

The Sport Witness report claims Juve are keen to acquire Cuadrado since "he's already made himself one of the club's best players and someone who the manager relies on." He was certainly neither of those things during his short and ill-fated stint in England's Premier League.

After signing a deal worth close to £27 million back in January, Cuadrado never impressed boss Jose Mourinho. His struggles were surprising considering Cuadrado possesses qualities Mourinho usually values. Specifically, his pace, power and versatility are the type of attributes Mourinho often builds his counter-attacking game around.

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

Yet, Cuadrado couldn't make the grade on the flank or through the middle. He simply seems more at home in Italy's top flight, having previously starred for Juve's bitter enemy Fiorentina.

With Brazilian Willian now occupying the roving role of winger and occasional central attacking midfielder, it's the ideal time to sell Cuadrado. But the possible sale has seemed in jeopardy over concerns about the fee, as noted by Calciomercato.com (h/t Metro's Mark Brus).

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These latest claims will make Chelsea believe there's hope to move past one of their biggest transfer blunders of recent seasons.

Chelsea had Bid Turned Down for Neymar

From a transfer the Blues wish they hadn't made, to one they wish they had. Back in 2010, the then-defending Premier League champions tried to sign Neymar from Santos.

That's according to Santos president Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro, who recounted the failed bid in his upcoming book, according to Brazilian source Sambafoot (h/t Daily Star's James Phillips).

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Here are the details of the botched deal:

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Roman Abramovich's Blues offered around £21.2m for the youngster but Santos decided the offer wasn't enough.

Pini Zahavi, who was representing Chelsea in New York, met with Neymar and his father at Sao Paulo airport before he made his senior Brazil debut against the USA.

According to the book, there were two cars waiting for them after the meeting - one from the Blues and one from Santos, but Neymar climbed into his club's car and remained in Brazil for three more years.

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Chelsea must rue their representatives failing to talk Neymar into a move to the Premier League. Had they convinced him, the Blues would have landed one of the most prolific forwards in the game.

Whether in his homeland or Spain's La Liga with Barcelona, Neymar has not lost his flair in front of goal. He's a deadly finisher who is practically automatic in one-on-one situations. Surprisingly good in the air and with pace to burn, the 23-year-old is now one of the top players in the world.

In fact, Martin Laurence of WhoScored.com stated in an article for Sky Sports that Neymar is "beginning to emulate" the standards set by Barca team-mate Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the two players who've dominated the Ballon d'Or award.

Yet, it's interesting to wonder if Neymar would have thrived as much had he switched to England's top flight. It's a division noted for its rough-and-tumble physicality and frenetic pace.

A slight player like Neymar, not noted for his strength, would surely have found the adaptation period difficult. But given his natural ability, he still would have been a good bet to eventually flourish.

It's easy to believe the Blues would rather be reaping the benefits of Neymar's protracted development, instead of counting the cost of guessing wrong on Cuadrado.