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Published 09:47 21 Jul 2018 BST
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It should be no surprise, then, to see the likes of Douglas Costa, Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuaín and Pjanic all linked with moves away from 'The Old Lady'. Defender Alex Sandro looks set for PSG.
Dybala has been linked with Liverpool but Jurgen Klopp's side look to have spent most of their summer allocation [£167m has been splashed so far] while Higuaín has been shopped out across Europe. Chelsea are said to be interested but new boss Maurizio Sarri has identified midfield as a priority for the Blues.
Not long after his unveiling at Stamford Bridge, the former Napoli boss said:
"I spoke with the club and ideally I think that a pinch of quality is lacking in our centre-midfield for a certain type of play... I cannot change 20 players, I must adapt and then I will see if we change somethings in my game."Sarri needs to convince the trio of Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois and Willian [a £55m Barcelona target] that sticking around London, and the Premier League, is in their best interest. Bringing in a quality player like Pjanic [currently valued at £72m] may convince them Chelsea can challenge Manchester City next season. Macedonian football agent Fali Ramadani, who played a key role in Sarri's switch to Chelsea, has recently taken over the job of negotiating Pjanic’s career. Ramadani and Pjanic were spotted in Milan on Wednesday but the player refused to answer questions from a local TV crew that captured their meeting. Chelsea have already brought in Jorginho from Napoli and Pjanic would tick most of the boxes for that quality midfielder he seeks. If the 28-year-old is on the market, though, Manchester United should seriously consider making a bid. Pjanic is exactly the type of player that could add to United's midfield and offer more in a centre trio than, say, Ander Herrera. Teaming Pjanic up with Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba could give United an extremely talented midfield core with which to build around. The transfer window closes on August 12 so the next few weeks should be very interesting.
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