Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has asked the board to make a move for Barcelona midfielder Sergi Roberto, according to Sport.
The Catalan newspaper say the 25 year old has a €40million buyout clause which means that Barca can’t stop the player from leaving, even though the club would like the midfielder to stay.
Sport‘s reporting of the story is remarkably different to Barcelona’s other major sports publication Mundo Deportivo. The newspaper reported on Tuesday that Barca had rejected a €40m bid from Manchester United for Roberto, with no mention of the release clause.
Even if the clause does exist though, it seems the player is happy to remain at the Camp Nou. Sport say that the player is keen to win more titles at Barca even though he is surprised he hasn’t been used more regularly by new manager Ernesto Valverde in pre-season.
Chelsea are said to be willing to remain patient on signing Roberto, and it could be the case that a bid is placed close to the end of the transfer window, when it could be clearer where Roberto figures in Barca’s first team plans.
