Chelsea ready to step up bid for star Serie A performer
Published:Disappointed to see a £20m bid for the player rejected earlier this month, Chelsea are believed to be ready to make an improved offer to land Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic.
The coveted 22-year-old forward, a player in a similar mould to the Blues’ Juan Mata, is thought to be keen on a move to the Premier League, and could realise his ambition sooner rather than later.
This comes with reports from Italian newspaper La Gazetta dello Sport that a fee of £25m would be enough to trigger a release clause in the Montenegro star’s contract.
Only last week Jovetic’s Italian employers outlined their reluctance to lose the playmaker, but that stance now appears to have been used as a spur for the Blues to step up their bid for the player.
22 goals in 85 appearances for Fiorentina indicate that Jovetic would not be signed as a replacement for Didier Drogba, but more likely as a foil to a more orthodox striker.
That said, he did enjoy his best campaign for the club in terms of goalscoring last season, when registering on 14 occasions in Serie A, at an average better than one every two games.
Still only 22, his potential seems limitless, and a continued sharpening of his goalscoring instincts could see Jovetic grow into a world class talent under the right tutelage.
Already a scorer of nine international goals from just 20 caps, he is thought to have admirers elsewhere in Serie A, with champions Juventus and Napoli reportedly high on the forward’s technical ability.
Both clubs could struggle to match the financial might of Chelsea however, as Juve prioritise the signing of a powerful striker, and Napoli try their best to hold on to the likes of Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Jovetic himself is believed to prefer a move to England too, and Stamford Bridge could soon become the place his apparently boundless talent is nurtured.
