According to reports in Madrid based daily MARCA, Chelsea’s Andre Schurrle could be headed to Atletico Madrid with Brazilian defender Miranda heading the other way to Stamford Bridge. The Rojiblancos have well and fully understood the price of success with their major players Diego Costa, Filipe Luis and Thibaut Courtois all joining Chelsea in what would be rightly called a mass exodus.
Manager Diego Simeone however has acted quickly in the transfer market to acquire French sensation Antoine Griezmann from Real Sociedad and is now on the prowl to sign German midfielder Schurrle whose assist for Mario Gotze at the Maracana against Argentina won the World Cup for the Die Mannschaft. Schurrle has primarily been a bit part-player for Jose Mourinho, with his majority of appearances coming from the bench.
The 23 year old former Bayer Leverkusen midfielder has hit the back of the net 8 times and grabbed a couple of assists in 30 outings for the Blues from London. However it is believed that his enormous work rate that has convinced Simeone to land him at the Vicente Calderon by offering Manchester United target Miranda to Chelsea.
Both Chelsea and Manchester United’s need for a central defender are well documented and MARCA reported a couple of days ago that Mourinho is insistent to sign Miranda and is set to offer €25m for the player. The Brazilian has the same super agent as Costa and Luis, i.e Jorge Mendes and Mourinho is confident that a deal can be agreed upon. Chelsea were earlier interested in Raphael Varane after their pursuit of Roma’s Mehdi Benatia had hit a roadblock but it is believed that Real Madrid have no intentions in selling the young Frenchman with Pepe entering his early thirties.
Miranda however has a €30m release clause and should both Chelsea and Atletico agree on a deal, the English giants will have to pay some significant cash worth around €10m and also allowing Schurrle to witch loyalties for the La Liga winners. Finally after breaking the Real Madrid and Barcelona hegemony in Spain last season can the Rojiblancos defy the odds and defend their title successfully?