Chelsea are looking to add a defensive reinforcement this summer and have been linked with a host of top defenders (Bonucci, Koulibaly et al) this summer. One of the names linked with the Blues is Greek international Kostas Manolas, who plays for Serie A giants Roma.
Earlier this month, Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Chelsea had offered a deal worth €4m-per-year for Manolas which is significantly high to what he earns at Roma.
According to his agent, Ioannis Evangelopoulos, Chelsea are not the only club vying for his signature, both the Manchester clubs are interested in signing the 25-year-old defender as well.
“The best clubs in Europe want him. There isn’t just Manchester City, but also United and Chelsea. I haven’t spoken with Roma for a while,” said Evangelopoulos as quoted by Il Tempo via Football Italia.
Manchester United are seemingly interested in the Greek international (judging by the quote) but the Red Devils have other targets as well.
Manolas joined Roma in 2014 from Greek Olympiakos in a complex transfer deal. According to Football Leaks, the Giallorossi are required to pay the Greek side either €6.5m or half of a transfer fee, whichever is greater, and the Italian side would need to pay further €6.5m payment on September 1st to make it a permanent move.
There was also another additional clause: if Manolas is sold to a club for more than €13m then Roma would be committed to paying Olympiakos half of the transfer fee for that deal. Roma value the player highly and would demand a fee around €44m for the defender which means they would only receive around €22m from the sale.
His agent has recently said that they have rejected a contract extension from the Serie A giants, however, according to Gianluca Di Marzio, Roma will be offering a new contract to Manolas by the end of the current transfer window. It is quite clear that Manolas’ agent is trying to put a pressure on Roma to ensure his client gets a fat new contract.
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