Marcos Alonso could be offered an Italian escape route from Chelsea next month, with former Blues boss Antonio Conte ‘more than interested’ in bringing the left-back back to Serie A.
Alonso has suffered from a dramatic fall from grace as of late. Although he was Frank Lampard’s first choice left-back until November, he hasn’t been seen since he was withdrawn at half-time in the 4-4 draw with Ajax – in which he had a disastrous 45 minutes.
Emerson and makeshift left-back Cesar Azpilicueta are now seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order, and Chelsea are once again able to sign players in January after a CAS ruling cut short their registration embargo. That being the case, it seems likely the Stamford Bridge side will listen to offers to get him off the wage bill for the second half of the season and beyond.
And according to Calcio Mercato, that could come from his former manager Conte, with high-flying Inter said to be ‘more than interested’ in bringing the Spaniard back to Serie A, where he starred for Fiorentina between 2013-16.
However, it’s unclear where the reports actually originate from. Calciomercato source the vague ‘British press’ while all UK reports seem to trace back to the Italian outlet, but in any case it’s one of the more substantiated transfer rumours out there ahead of the window reopening in around three weeks’ time.
The report, wherever it stems from, claims that Inter are considering an offer, but at this stage will only take him on loan with no pre-agreed obligation to buy, allowing them to make a decision on the 28-year-old in the summer.
It notes that Chelsea would then look to Ben Chilwell or Nathan Aké, in whom they are thought to hold a £40m buy-back clause, as a replacement in the event of his departure.
Also leaving Chelsea could be the similarly out-of-favour Pedro, who is reported to have an offer on the table from Aston Villa.
For more from Robbie Copeland, follow him on Twitter!
Let’