Mourinho eyes another Chelsea raid as Roma target £13.5m forgotten star
Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek could be handed a surprise career lifeline – with Jose Mourinho reportedly planning to bring him to Rome in a cut-price £13.5m deal.
The former Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United has already spent close to £90m at the Serie A giants. His biggest signing to date is the £36m splashed out on England striker Tammy Abraham, just a week ago.
Abraham has made an instant impression at Chelsea, having assisted two goals in Roma’s 3-1 win over Fiorentina at the weekend.
But he might not be the only former Chelsea man in the Italian capital. As per il Corriere dello Sport, (via the Daily Mail), Mourinho is keen to return to his former club to strike a deal for Loftus-Cheek.
Mourinho worked briefly with Loftus-Cheek in his second stint in west London and reportedly sees him as an ideal signing. The report claims the Roma boss wants to reunite with the England international on an initial loan deal.
It states Chelsea would prefer a sale for a player who does not feature in Thomas Tuchel’s plans. But they will sanction a loan deal – which is Roma’s preference – if it contains an obligation to buy.
Chelsea rate the player at around the £16m mark – but Roma’s proposal is said to be for a £2m loan fee now and a further £11.5m next summer.
The report claims Roma have already made their approach. Furthermore, their transfer chief Tiago Pinto is working hard to complete his signing before the window shuts.
The 25-year-old spent last season on loan at Fulham but needs a permanent move to get his career back on track. And he could become the third Londoner in Rome, with Chris Smalling also a big favourite at the Serie A outfit.
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Ferdinand lauds Tuchel impact at Chelsea
Rio Ferdinand, meanwhile, has hailed the impact Tuchel has had on the players at Stamford Bridge since succeeding Frank Lampard.
“Frank’s respectful and I think he’s honest enough to know and would say Tuchel has done an amazing job,” Ferdinand told FIVE.
“But at the same time I’m sure Frank’s sitting there thinking, ‘well I didn’t see these certain players performing like this when I was there’.
“But then it’s about Frank looking at himself, looking at his tenure there, did he approach things the right way. I’m sure he’s doing all this, he’s looking at, ‘Could I have handled this situation better, could I have handled that player better?’
“That’s what Frank will be going through and he’ll be looking to make sure he rights the wrongs from his time at Chelsea.
“But you can’t do anything but respect and pay homage to what Tuchel has done.
“Look at Rudiger, he’s arguably since Tuchel has been there [at Chelsea], been the best defender in the Premier League. Him or [Ruben] Dias in that time. He’s been unbelievable, he’s like an animal.”
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