Chelsea is considering a £20 million bid for Douglas Costa of Shakhtar Donetsk.
Douglas is currently with the Ukrainian club’s squad on a tour of South America, may yet prove a more cost efficient addition than Fiorentina’s Juan Cuadrado, for whom Fiorentina are insisting Chelsea meet the £26.8 million buy-out clause in his contract.
Chelsea has been in touch with Shakhtar and suggested they would be willing to pay up to £20 million to secure the 24-year-old Douglas, who is a Brazilian midfielder.
Both Chelsea and Manchester United had scouted him heavily as a teenager and have continued to track his progress with Shakhtar, with the player having indicated this week that he would favour a switch to London. “It’s a dream to play for Chelsea, a unique opportunity,” he told the Brazilian newspaper, Globo Esporte. “I am trying to negotiate [a departure].”