CHELSEA will sell Mario Pasalic to Atalanta for £13.4million, according to reports.
And that cash is expected to be given to Frank Lampard to help in his pursuit of Jadon Sancho and Ben Chilwell this summer.
Pasalic, 25, has spent the last two seasons on loan with the Serie A side, scoring 15 goals across 74 appearances.
Now Italian journalist Nicolo Schira believes a deal is in place for the Champions League quarter-finalists to make the switch permanent.
An agreement was put in place earlier in the season and it now looks as though Atalanta will complete the transfer.
Pasalic signed for Chelsea from Hajduk Split in his homeland of Croatia in 2014 as part of a £3m deal.
But in his six years on the books at Stamford Bridge, he did not make a single first-team appearance.
Instead, he went on loans to Elche, Monaco, AC Milan and Spartak Moscow for a season each before his spell with Atalanta.
In his first year, he helped secure a third-place finish and Champions League football.
The Italians then came through a group with Manchester City, Shakhtar Donetsk and Dinamo Zagreb to advance to the knockout stages, where they beat Valencia 8-4 on aggregate to qualify for the last eight before the season was suspended.
Domestically, the club are fourth in Serie A and currently keeping Roma and Napoli out of the Champions League spots with the season set to resume on the weekend of June 20 and 21.
Chelsea persuaded Pasalic to sign a new contract a year ago, tying him down until 2022 and ensuring they could get a transfer fee for the Croatia international when they did move him on.
And the Blues will be grateful for every bit of cash they can raise through player sales this summer as they plan a blockbuster transfer window.
Timo Werner is on the brink of completing a stunning £53m transfer from RB Leipzig with a £200,000-a-week deal for five years.
And Lampard is determined to make up for the lack of signings in January after their transfer ban was lifted by going all out this time around.
Hakim Ziyech is already through the door but the Blues remain very interested in Sancho and Chilwell.
Lampard is particularly in need of a left-back and has eyed Leicester and England man Chilwell as the ideal signing.
The 23-year-old is reportedly valued at around £85m by the Foxes but the West Londoners are said to be hopeful the coronavirus pandemic’s financial impact may drive the fee down.
Manchester United are thought to be leading the race for Sancho who would cost in excess of £100m and Real Madrid are also very keen but Lampard will be hopeful he can use the appeal of coming back to his hometown to lure Sancho to Stamford Bridge.
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