Big target: Atletico Madrid striker Sergio
Aguero
Chelsea are closing in on a
British record £40million deal to sign Atletico Madrid striker
Sergio Aguero.
In the last few days, Chelsea have met representatives of IMG,
Aguero’s agents, to
discuss a deal that would eclipse the £32.5m
Manchester City paid for
Robinho in August 2008.
Senior Chelsea club officials were involved in the discussions
and sufficient progress has been made in the last two weeks for all
parties to be confident that the deal will be wrapped up soon.
Chelsea have lined up alternatives in case they cannot persuade
Atletico to sell. Representatives of Edin Dzeko, Wolfsburg’s
Bosnian international striker,
flew into London for talks nine days ago.
But it is believed Chelsea officials also met counterparts from
Atletico on the same day and are determined to make Aguero their
big January signing before they learn whether the transfer ban
imposed by FIFA over the Gael Kakuta affair is to be upheld by the
Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Personal terms on a four-and-a-half- year contract are all but
agreed, and the only major stumbling block which remains is
Atletico’s desire to receive a fee which would make the loss of
their most popular player more palatable to their fans.
Aguero, who replaced Fernando Torres as the darling of the
Vicente Calderon Stadium, could be loaned back to the Spanish club
for the remainder of the season. Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has
made no secret of his admiration for Aguero, not least after the
21-year-old forward scored twice in the Champions League match
between the teams in Madrid.
With Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka both in their thirties,
and the possibility that Chelsea will not be able to sign anyone
until the summer of 2011 if their two-window transfer ban is
upheld, Aguero is seen as the ideal investment.
Aguero’s buy-out clause is about £55m, but Atletico realise
nobody will pay that sum in the current financial climate. Chelsea
will not be held to ransom, but they are prepared to break the
British transfer record.
The Argentina international, a likely star of next summer’s
World Cup, is engaged to national coach Diego Maradona’s daughter,
Giannina, with whom he has a son.