Chelsea set to miss out on long-term target as Real Sociedad transfer agreed
Long-standing Chelsea target Arsen Zakharyan is close to completing a move to La Liga outfit Real Sociedad from Dynamo Moscow, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.
La Real have beaten four other unnamed sides to the 20-year-old’s signature for a fee thought to be in the region of €13million (£11.2million) with the potential to reach a higher fee with performance related add-ons.
The Blues had been following the Dynamo midfielder for over a year and had even seen a bid publicly recognised in August of last year only for the deal to reportedly stall «for a number of technical reasons» outside of the Russian club’s control, although the breakdown in negotiations is thought to be due to strict sanctions placed upon Russian as a result of the conflict in Ukraine.
A year on and the 20-year-old, who has been deployed on either wing as well as a central and attacking midfielder, is set to finally make the move to one of Europe’s top five leagues and play Champions League football next season after Sociedad achieved a fourth-place finish in La Liga last season.
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Chelsea have since turned to alternative targets at attacking midfield, investing in players such as Carney Chukwuemeka and Christopher Nkunku, who is expected to miss the first six weeks of the new Premier League season with an injury obtained during pre-season.
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