Gabri Veiga, a midfielder for Celta Vigo, is reportedly a target for Chelsea.
Before the summer transfer window had opened, Mauricio Pochettino already faced a setback when one of his targets, Sporting’s Manuel Ugarte, opted to join Paris Saint-Germain rather than Chelsea.
The Guardian claims that Pochettino has made the acquisition of at least one new central midfielder a priority and is now focused on Veiga.
According to the source, Chelsea is “willing to push hard” to sign the 21-year-old, but the club will have to compete with both Liverpool and Barcelona.
Liverpool is about to finalize a deal to acquire Brighton’s Alexis MacAllister, but once the deal is done, it is anticipated that they will start working on a transfer for Veiga.
Celta Vigo narrowly avoided relegation from La Liga this season but Veiga remained one of their standout performers throughout the campaign with 11 goals and four assists in the league.
Viega still has three years remaining on his contract with Celta Vigo but his deal includes a €40m (£34.4m) buyout clause.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are facing the prospect of losing N’Golo Kante as Saudi side Al-Ittihad, who completed their move for Karim Benzema on Tuesday, have offered the midfielder a two-year deal worth around £86m a year.
Kante’s current contract with Chelsea is due to expire at the end of the month.
Chelsea are also in talks to sell Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City, while Manchester United are in advanced negotiations for Mason Mount after a £50m bid was submitted over the weekend.
