Chelsea are preparing bid of €45m (£40m) for Cagliari midfielder Nicolo Barella, according to reports in Italy.
The Blues are keen to have a deal sewn up by Christmas with both manager Maurizio Sarri and assistant Gianfranco Zola pushing for a deal to happen.
Fans on social media are intrigued by the prospect of Barella joining Chelsea, while some believe he is a better option than reported alternative Denis Suarez:
Please make it happen @ChelseaFC
— Jibril Mahammed Mukhtar (@xavi_jibril) 12 December 2018
Great talent in real life too and starting to make his way into the senior national team XI. Unreal technique.
— Laurent Ciman l’expert du marquage (@kl_gifs) 12 December 2018
Better than Denis Suarez
— Quicksilver Chambeshi???? (@ChambeshiP) 12 December 2018
He is BEAST
— Chelsea Union (@UnionChelsea) 12 December 2018
Denis Suarez to Chelsea? Ehh.
Nicolò Barella to Chelsea? Sure!Barella (21) is a really nice player. Can play all across the midfield, has great tenacity & judging by his quotes, seems unafraid of playing in the PL. Could make signing Kovačić a little less of a priority.
— Alex Goldberg (@AlexGoldberg_) 12 December 2018
Enough of midfielders, sign some attacking players
— Roy (@bobbydebroy) 12 December 2018
I hear from niinii that #CFC are not looking to make kova’s loan permanent.And for me Barella is a better choice than Denis.We need signings asap,transfer ban impending
— Quicksilver Chambeshi???? (@ChambeshiP) 12 December 2018
I watched both Barella & Kovavic, Kovavic is a much more superior player & talent
— Walter (@WalterTacticc) 12 December 2018
Barella has also been linked with Liverpool and Manchester United in recent months and has recently been given his first senior cap for Italy by manager Roberto Mancini.
One of the reasons why Chelsea are so keen to get a deal over the line for the 21-year-old may be due to an impending transfer ban. In addition, the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Danny Drinkwater could be on their way out of the club, making a new signing in midfield a top priority for January.
The reported move for Barella could also be down to Zola, who gave the midfielder his senior debut when he was Cagliari manager back in January 2015.