According to The Sun, are set to complete the £23million signing of Matias Vecino in the summer. The Blues had their transfer ban lifted ahead of the January window – but boss Frank Lampard was left frustrated as no new arrivals came in.
Now, though, the West London club are already working on getting plenty of deals done for when the window re-opens in the summer. According to the Sunday Express, Inter Milan midfielder Vecino is high on the list.
It is understood Antonio Conte is willing to let the Uruguayan go in order to help fund his own summer business. Vecino, 28, started his professional career at Central Espanol and Nacional in his homeland before making the switch to Italy in 2013 when he signed for Fiorentina.
Vecino called the switch a dream come true. For many a player that is a simple platitude but for a player with Italian ancestry he appeared genuinely excited by the prospect of moving to Europe.
He said: “I have Italian origins and hope to soon register an Italian passport, even if I don’t speak the language well yet. “Alvaro Recoba told me about Italian football and said Florence is a beautiful city. From what I’ve seen so far, it really is a place where you can live well.”
First-team football during his first year with La Viola was scarce. He made just seven appearances and spent the second half of the 2013/14 campaign on loan at Cagliari.
In the summer of 2014 came a turning point. Vecino joined Empoli on loan for the season and, under the guidance of Maurizio Sarri, established himself as an accomplished box-to-box midfielder.