Monaco Reportedly Offering €35 Million for Aleksandr Golovin
July 20, 2018
Aleksandr Golovin is the subject of a €35 million offer from Ligue 1 side AS Monaco, according to Le10 Sport (h/t Get French Football News):
Monaco's mooted confidence about acquiring the CSKA Moscow playmaker could be something of a surprise since the 22-year-old was also reportedly a target for Chelsea and Barcelona. The latter saw a bid of £26.8 million rebuffed during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, per Russian source championat.ru (h/t Joe Short of the Daily Express).
The Blues were named as favourites to sign Golovin by ex-CSKA midfielder Roman Shirokov in June during an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Alex Harris of the Daily Star).
However, CSKA president Evgeniy Giner downplayed Chelsea's chances on Wednesday while also detailing Monaco's efforts to sign his star player, to Sport24 (h/t James Benge of the London Evening Standard): "Indeed, we were visited by the vice-president of Monaco (Vadim Vasilyev) and made a proposal for Golovin. Chelsea? There is no closed arrangement with them."
Golovin has risen to prominence this season, particularly after his performances for Russia at the World Cup. He scored a goal and provided a pair of assists to help the host nation reach the quarter-finals, showcasing his vision and flair.
His mix of technique and scoring potential has also attracted interest from Serie A giants Juventus and Chelsea's Premier League rivals Arsenal, per Tuttosport (h/t Calciomercato.com and the Daily Mirror).
While there's quite a queue of high-profile suitors, Monaco have a strong recent history of acquiring promising youngsters from around Europe. Last year, the club snapped up Youri Tielemans from Anderlecht despite interest from Manchester City and Manchester United, according to ESPN FC's Ian Holyman.
Winning the race for Golovin would give coach Leonardo Jardim another gifted young midfielder after he's watched Tiemoue Bakayoko and Fabinho leave in the last two summers.