Chelsea placed on red alert as talks over Villa’s
proposed Real Madrid deal collapse
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Chelsea have been handed renewed hope of signing David
Villa after talks over the Spain star’s move to Real Madrid broke
down.
Valencia rejected the west London club’s advances last week
because they were in advanced discussions over a £36million deal to
take the striker to the Bernabeu.
However, with interest also being mooted from Barcelona,
Manchester City and Manchester United, Villa’s debt-hit club are
holding out for a fee not much over the £40m that Chelsea were
understood to be happy to bid.
The deal would be complicated by the 27-year-old’s preference to
stay in Spain, but he is running out of options with Valencia keen
to sell and Barcelona also well short of the asking price.
Barca’s vice-president Rafael Yuste says his club are in talks
to sign the Euro 2008 top scorer, but they are at least £10m short
of the asking price.
‘There are many players who are interested in coming to play at
Barcelona and I think that people have to know this,’ Yuste told
Radio Catalunya. ‘The talks (over Villa) are absolutely open.’
John Terry and Frank Lampard have both encouraged Chelsea to
sign Villa and, with 87 league goals in 129 appearances for his
current club, he is seen as one of Europe’s hottest properties.
Valencia have debts of about £470m and hope to maximise the fee
for Villa in a bid to hold on to David Silva, who is fancied by
Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester United.
The club are ready to offload players who have two years left on
their contracts.
They include defenders Raul Albiol, Carlos Marchena and Emiliano
Moretti, winger Vicente Rodriguez and former Newcastle United
midfielder Hugo Viana.
Giant Serbia striker Nikola Zigic could also be up for grabs,
with Sunderland boss Steve Bruce understood to be an admirer.
Both Madrid and their Nou Camp rivals warn they will not be
ripped off and are ready to fight it out for Atletico Madrid
striker Diego Forlan, who has a release clause set at closer to
£30m.
