Chelsea to swoop on Jose Gimenez despite  €120m release clause

Chelsea are preparing to make another move for Atletico Madrid centre-back Jose Gimenez this summer, claims a report.

Gimenez has been on the radar of Chelsea supremo Maria Granovskaia for some time, with the club, under Frank Lampard, interested in a deal last summer.

Romano said that the Blues were “so interested” in the Urugayan, but his release clause prevented them from swooping.

That is believed to be set at €120m. However, after starting just 12 games in La Liga this season due to injuries, that price tag looks mightily high.

AS reported in September that Manchester City had made a bid in excess of €80m for Gimenez. But that fell some way short of Atletico Madrid’s evaluation of the player.

Sport Witness reported that the Spanish club’s president, Enrique Cerezo, confirmed the bid when speaking on Onda Cero’s El Transistor programme.

He said: “Yes we received the offer [from City], but Gimenez is a magnificent player and we are interested in having magnificent players in our team.”

The Athletic insist Chelsea remain interested in the 26-year-old, who is under contract until 2023.

New boss Thomas Tuchel is understood to be chasing a new centre-back this summer. David Alaba, Niklas Sule and Ibrahima Konate are all reportedly under consideration.