CSKA Moscow president Evgeniy Giner has warned Chelsea they are not the only team in the running to sign star midfielder Aleksandr Golovin this summer.
The Premier League giants have been heavily linked with a move for Golovin since his dazzling performances at the 2018 World Cup.
Chelsea are ready to step up their interest in all of their transfer targets since appointing Maurizio Sarri as their new manager last week, but have been warned about their chances of signing Golovin.
“I believe that [he] can grow into a big star,” Giner told Russian outlet sport24. “I’m not sure that this can happen in the Russian championship.
“The level of the English Premier League or the championship of Spain is much higher. In order not to ruin [him], we must let him go.
“But we have no solution for today. When we receive an offer, we always try to negotiate openly. Indeed, we were visited by the vice-president of Monaco and he made a proposal for Golovin.
“If we talk about Chelsea, then there is no closed agreement with them. But the question of his transition will be decided, I think, in the next couple of days.”
The west London outfit kicked off Sarri’s tenure with the arrival of Napoli midfielder Jorginho in a deal worth as much as £50m and are now looking to bolster their central midfield options further.
Sarri lamented Chelsea’s current central midfield options during his unveiling on Wednesday afternoon and they are running the risk of missing out on Golovin.
The 22-year-old was a revelation for Russia at their home World Cup and has previously been linked with a move to Juventus.
Golovin played a direct hand in three goals in four appearances for Russia at the 2018 World Cup, finishing the campaign with an impressive WhoScored rating of 7.50. Indeed, no player at the tournament provided more assists than the Chelsea target (2).
He dives into tackles. He's more like a defensive midfielder.