According to the Mirror, Roman Abramovich is confident that Chelsea‘s chances of bringing Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone to the club have improved significantly following the club’s transfer ban.
The Liga BBVA heavyweights were—along with city rivals Real Madrid—slapped with a hefty sanction by Fifa on Thursday [as per BBC Sport] after allegedly breaching rules concerning the transfer of minors, that is under-18 players.
The punishment means that neither club will be allowed to register new players during the next two transfer windows—the summer of 2016 and the 2017 January transfer window [again via BBC Sport].
This could have knock-on consequences for Chelsea’s hopes of bringing Simeone to Stamford Bridge, with the Mirror [as above] noting that Abramovich’s confidence is because the Argentine coach is more likely to move to the Premier League during the summer “if his hands are tied on transfers.”
The tabloid also notes that Simeone is Chelsea’s ‘No 1 choice’ to take over this summer as Jose Mourinho’s ultimate long-term successor. The Portuguese coach was dismissed in December, with Guus Hiddink taking over until the season’s end in an interim capacity.
The Pensioners have improved under the Dutch coach, and remain unbeaten in the league since his arrival, but they still sit down in the bottom half of the table (in 14th) only six points clear of the relegation zone.
SEE MORE:
Arsene Wenger plans to wield the axe at Arsenal, with three senior players tipped for summer exits
Defender tipped to complete Manchester United move during January window
Tottenham & Chelsea face fresh transfer competition for EPL hotshot