Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich 'in Milan to seal £89m double swoop' for Gonzalo Higuain and Daniele Rugani.
Roman Abramovich has arrived in Milan to help Chelsea push through a double deal for Juventus duo Gonzalo Higuain and Daniele Rugani, according to reports in Italy.
The Russian tycoon, who does not currently have a UK visa, is said to have travelled to Italy in order to help agent Fali Ramadani in talks with the Serie A champions.
Corriere dello Sport claims Juventus chief executive Fabio Paratici met with Chelsea officials on Wednesday with the intention of agreeing a deal worth €100million (£89m) for both Higuain and Rugani.
Ramadani, who has a close relationship with Juventus, was hired by Chelsea to act as an intermediary between the two clubs and has succeeded in taking talks to the brink of an agreement.
Now, Abramovich appears to have flown in to oversee the final details with Chelsea hoping to complete the double signing in time for Higuain and Rugani to link up with the team on their pre-season tour of Australia.
Juventus are keen to sell Higuain following the £100m arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo and value the striker at €60m (£53.5m). Rugani, meanwhile, is likely to cost Chelsea around €40m (£35.5m).
Their arrival is likely to lead to significant departures at Stamford Bridge. Alvaro Morata, a £60m signing from Real Madrid last summer, could make way for Higuain while Gary Cahill will seek first-team opportunities elsewhere if Rugani comes in.
Chelsea are looking to make up for lost time after Maurizio Sarri's arrival was delayed significantly by mitigating circumstances. The Blues struggled to agree an exit fee with Antonio Conte while Napoli held firm on their £9m exit clause for Sarri.
Conte refused to walk away unless the final year of his three-season deal was paid up front while Napoli did not want to sack Sarri despite hiring Carlo Ancelotti as his replacement earlier this summer.
A breakthrough in both circumstances was made last week and Sarri took charge of the team this week. His first act as manager was sealing a £57m deal for Napoli star Jorginho, snapping him from under the nose of rivals Manchester City.
