Chelsea are reportedly set to increase their offer for Torino striker Andrea Belotti, but doubts remain if they will be successful given his release clause.
The 23-year-old has been in stunning form this season, scoring 26 goals in 31 appearances in all competitions, and establishing himself as a key figure for Italy too.
In turn, it’s no surprise that he’s attracting interest from elsewhere, with The Daily Mail reporting that Chelsea are willing to increase their bid to £55m plus bonuses.
However, Belotti has a release clause of £85m in place, and it’s added in the report that Antonio Conte is not prepared to meet that demand in order to land the Italian international.
It’s noted that reports claimed this week that Chelsea had a £50m bid rejected while the consensus is that the Premier League leaders are being forced to look for a replacement for Diego Costa as question marks remain over his future at Stamford Bridge.
Belotti would undoubtedly be an ideal replacement for the Blues, but they’re unwilling to splash out the entire £85m in one go to land the Torino forward, and would instead prefer to start around £55m, with the bonuses eventually reaching the fee stated in the clause.
Nevertheless, that’s not what Torino want if they are forced to sell their most prized asset, and so Chelsea will have to return with an improved offer that meets their demands.
Alvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku are noted as possible alternatives in the report, but it remains to be seen where Conte goes moving forward. Belotti is undoubtedly set to be of interest to other clubs around Europe this summer, but it remains to be seen who’s successful in prising him away from Turin.