Chelsea Transfer News: Miralem Pjanic Fee, Terms Reported Amid Latest Rumours

Chelsea are reportedly ready to offer £30 million-rated AS Roma playmaker Miralem Pjanic a three-year contract worth £65,000 per week. It's a deal that could raise questions about Oscar's future at Stamford Bridge beyond this season.

Simon Johnson of the London Evening Standard has described how Roma view Pjanic's situation headed toward the summer transfer window: "The Serie A club fear the £30 million-rated Bosnia international has already decided he wants to leave and will  not sign an extension to his current contract, which expires in 2018."

Roma's doubts are counteracted by optimism at Stamford Bridge, particularly with the arrival of their next manager: "Pjanic boasts the most assists in Serie A with 10 and has also scored an impressive 12 times in all competitions. It is believed he is interested in moving to Chelsea, who will have current Italy coach Antonio Conte in charge next season."

Antonio Conte taking over is likely to accelerate any interest in Pjanic. The former Juventus chief knows the Bosnian pass-master well from his time in Italy's top flight.

Yet despite Pjanic's obvious creativity and flair, Chelsea are already well-stocked with technical quality in midfield. The presence of Cesc Fabregas ensures the Blues boast sufficient vision in the middle.

A duo of Fabregas and Pjanic, even in front of a robust holding player, may lack balance. Of course, Chelsea can clear the deck for Pjanic by dumping one incumbent playmaker.

Johnson has also stated how Juventus are likely to be keen observers of Chelsea's interest, given the Turin club's ongoing interest in Brazilian schemer Oscar. Selling Oscar would open a void for a creative player such as Pjanic.

But a lot will depend on how Conte intends his team to play. When he built a title-winning squad at Juve, midfield excellence proved the key.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

With Andre Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Claudio Marchisio and later Paul Pogba, Conte made room for more than one attack-minded midfield man.

Two More Roma Stars on Chelsea Radar

Johnson's report also made clear how two other key members of Roma's squad are drawing interest from west London:

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Roma are also trying to fight off Chelsea’s interest in midfielder Radja Nainggolan and defender Kostas Manolas. As Standard Sport revealed last week, Nainggolan has been speaking to friends about the possibility of moving to Chelsea. However, Roma have tried to scare off Chelsea by valuing him at £40m, even though he turns 28 next month.

Reports in Italy also claim that Conte met the agent of 24-year-old Greece international Manolas in London yesterday. Conte has been in the capital since Sunday to sign his three-year contract and discuss transfer targets.

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There's no doubt the Blues need a young centre-back to help refresh an ageing and plodding back four next season. Kostas Manolas fits the bill, but the need for Radja Nainggolan's physical attributes in midfield is less clear.

Nemanja Matic still has the talent to occupy the holding role, provided he can respond to Conte's coaching and rebound from a dismal season. John Obi Mikel may be a question mark, but youngster Ruben Loftus-Cheek boasts the potential to make a deep-lying position his own sooner rather than later.

The 20-year-old has already declared his intention to catch the eye of the incoming new manager during the final games of this season, according to the club's official site (h/t Goal's Stefan Coerts).

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

Terms being mooted for Pjanic, along with the growing interest in his team-mates, shows Conte is already stepping up his plan to reshape Chelsea next season.

While he'll need defensive help, the need for midfield reinforcements is not so great. It will be better for Conte to accelerate his search for a prolific centre-forward.