Chelsea are weighing up a move for Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin as a replacement for out-going captain John Terry, reports AS.
Terry, 35, will leave Chelsea at the end of the season when his contract expires and the Blues will have to replace the former England captain with experience.
The need for a top-quality central defender was made even more of a priority in the summer after Kurt Zouma was ruled out for six months with a knee injury last week and Chelsea will reportedly turn to Godin.
The 29-year-old, who is one of the best defenders in Europe, has four years left to run on his current deal at Atletico, but Chelsea will hope to take advantage of their good relationship with the side at the end of the season, which could be made easier if Diego Simeone is made Chelsea boss in the summer.
Since the start of last season, only two players have won more aerial duels than Godin in La Liga (185).
For more stats on Diego Godin, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
Highly unlikely, that. Godin had been approached by Man City last summer and rejected the offer right away, committing his future to Atleti for another couple of years. Simeone has once even said when asked which are the players not for sale by any means. "Koke and Godin ", he replied. God, I would so love that people understand Atletico no longer are a 'selling club' since the sale of Falcao was brokered back in July 2013. No player exiting Atleti had to leave because of the club's financial issues. Pizzi, Mario Suarez, Alderweireld and Joel Robles were minor squad players. Diego Costa and Filipe wanted pastures new after winning every trophy possible with Atletico but Champions League; the latter was re-signed for almost the same amount of money. Jackson Martinez, Alessio Cerci and Raul Jimenez were major flops, while Mandzukic's form petered out big time since New Year's Day in 2015 and Raul Garcia demanded more game time.
@hindy Arda Turan meanwhile felt Atletico's style was too physical and he can't fully express himself. His influence on Rojiblancos' play has diminished in his last year at Vicente Calderon too.
Who would take step backwards? Chelsea is Emenalo and co. village team now