Pending official confirmation, Chelsea FC just closed a loan deal with Atletico Madrid for one of their best midfielders on the roster.
Atletico Madrid had been trying to offload their salary cap by either loaning or selling a player to Chelsea. The player in question is Saul Ñiguez, who no longer has a spot within Diego Simeone’s starting eleven this season. In previous weeks, the Blues wanted to buy the player but Marina Granovskaia refused to pay too much money for him. As soon as the Blues saw FC Barcelona’s interest in signing the Spanish midfielder in a swap deal for Griezmann, they pulled the trigger.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Saul arrives at Chelsea on a loan deal in which the Blues are paying €5 million. There is an option to buy Saul after one season but it’s not obligatory. If they manage to complete all the paperwork, Ñiguez will become a Blues player for the next season. Currently, the Spanish midfielder decided to not train alongside his teammates in order to sign the papers that credit him as a new Chelsea player.
Saul will be on his way to London later tonight.
After they make the necessary paperwork official, Saul will be on his way to London in order to make the official announcement. The deal has been agreed upon by all parties involved and Antoine Griezmann’s arrival is also very close because of this. Saul was the only player that was blocking the Frenchman’s arrival to FC Barcelona but his exit facilitates everything.
FC Barcelona is currently trying to reach an agreement on the final paying fee after a possible loan is over next season. At first, FC Barcelona wanted Saul in a swap deal but his arrival to Chelsea made the transfer more difficult. Atletico refused to pay €75 million but the final deal might get closer to €60 million. For now, Saul is minutes away from becoming an official Chelsea FC player.
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