Chelsea behind AC Milan in race for Badelj

Milan Badelj is most likely to join AC Milan in January although Chelsea and Inter are also interested in the Fiorentina star, Goal understands.  

The Serie A side expect the midfielder, whose contract is expiring in June 2018, to leave for a cut-price £14 million and are fully aware that he will be available for even less in the summer.

Blues boss Antonio Conte is a big fan of the Croatia international having previously scouted him with a view to a transfer back in October. 

AC Milan are, however, the club who has shown the most serious interest in Badelj and they see him as a perfect replacement for Ricardo Montolivo, with the Italian's cruciate ligament injury ruling him out for the season.

There are doubts that Milan will be able to finalise a deal with their takeover having been delayed, though, meaning there is still hope for Chelsea and Inter, who also retain an interest.

Milan missed out on Badelj in August after Fiorentina rejected their bid, but they are willing to accept offers in January having resigned themselves to losing their star midfielder.

Badelj is looking for regular first-team football and could triple his salary from €1.3 million to around €3 million a year if he moves on in the winter window. 

The 27-year-old could be put off by a lack of guarantees over regular first-team minutes at Stamford Bridge, however, with the likes of N’Golo Kante, Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas having impressed so far in the 2016-17 campaign.

Conte has already offloaded Oscar in a £52 million deal to Shanghai SIPG - with John Obi Mikel also having attracted several offers from clubs in Europe and China.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek could also leave in January on a temporary basis, leaving room for the Blues to look at bringing in a midfielder to bolster that area of the squad.

Inter star Geoffrey Kondogbia, Monaco's Tiemoue Bakayoko and Atalanta's Franck Kessie are thought to be the other targets on Chelsea's shortlist.

Charly Musonda, meanwhile, could be brought into the first-team picture having been recalled from a loan spell with Real Betis, with Conte assessing the 20-year-old in training.