Atletico Madrid have referred Chelsea to the buyout clause of Jan Oblak.
The Daily Mail says Atletico will demand the full £109million buyout clause for Oblak amid concerns that Chelsea are going for the goalkeeper’s signature.
Oblak is unsettled at Atletico and is looking for a bigger, more ambitious challenge with a move to the Premier League at the forefront of his thinking.
The 27-year old, regarded by many as one of the top three goalkeepers in the world, is understood to have grown unhappy at some of the decisions and direction taken by Atletico’s sporting director Andrea Berta.
Chelsea want a new goalkeeper despite the fact £71million signing Kepa Arrizabalaga intends to stay and fight for his place.
Ideally they could offset Oblak’s fee by using Kepa as a makeweight but Atletico don’t want to lose face with fans. They know Oblak is a huge favourite and should he leave they want it to be for a world record fee for a keeper.
Chelsea have been bold in their recruitment so far this year with Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner signed and talks taking place with Bayer Leverkusen for Kai Havertz.
They also want to add two defenders and a midfielder but a reliable keeper remains key to Frank Lampard’s plans.
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