Chelsea are set to
make a profit by selling flop defender Branislav Ivanovic to
Juventus - even though he has never played for the
Blues.
The 24-year-old Serbian
international moved from Lokomotiv Moscow to Stamford Bridge after
the Russian side accepted a £9million bid for him in January.
But he was unable to break
into the side because of a lack of match fitness caused by the
Russian league season being over when Chelsea signed him.
Chelsea beat off competition
from the likes of AC Milan, Juventus, Inter and Manchester United
for Ivanovic's signature.
But he has been unable to
dislodge either Ricardo Carvalho or John Terry or even Alex - from
the Chelsea first-team.
But Juventus boss and former
Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri believes he can persuade the
Londoners to part with the defender and is willing to make a £12m
bid - around £3m more than they paid for him.
Should Chelsea refuse then
Ranieri will try and take the versatile stopper on loan.
Juventus faced a defensive
crisis last term when £7m summer signing Jorge Andrade was ruled
out for the season after just four games, while Domenico Criscito
was not a good enough replacement.
Daily Mirror
