Chelsea are ready to pay £64.5m to sign Diogo Costa - despite him being heavily linked with a switch to Manchester United.
The Red Devils have tracked the Porto goalkeeper for several months and have weighed up a bid as they look to iron out their own No.1 situation. David de Gea's future remains unclear and the Spanish goalkeeper is set to become a free agent in a matter of days.
United, who have tabled a new offer to the goalkeeper, are yet to get an answer from De Gea, who is not performing at the level he once was. Should he leave Costa is high on their list of replacements and they were willing to pay his asking price, as per the Daily Mail. Inter Milan's Andre Onana, who worked with Erik ten Hag at Ajax is also a target and talks between the two parties are now being planned.
Onana was also on Chelsea's radar, but they recently pulled out of the race, leaving United with a free path. During that time though they were working on a deal to sign Costa from Porto and, according to Portuguese newspaper A Bola, are preparing to pay his release clause in instalments.
Should that deal be accepted then United could be left licking their wounds, especially if Inter refuse to sell Onana and De Gea moves on, which would be a nightmare scenario. Dean Henderson, who has previously been No 2 to De Gea, is also set to leave on a permanent basis.
Chelsea are mind full that their FFP situation will hamper them in the transfer market but are hopeful that three instalments of £21.5m will be enough to convince Porto to sell up. Such a method worked when they secured the British record deal for Enzo Fernandez in January.
Mauricio Pochettino is in the midst of assessing his squad having taken over at Stamford Bridge. The two current goalkeepers, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy have both failed to make the No 1 spot their own. Mendy has been linked with a switch to Saudi Arabia this summer.
Reports suggested that Pochettino favoured Kepa and was ready to back to Spaniard, but contrasting reports now state that he is keen to bring Costa on board and have Kepa as his deputy.
Chelsea's summer recruitment could be aided by a mass exodus that will raise plenty of funds. Hakim Ziyech could join Mendy in moving to Saudi Arabia while Arsenal have agreed a fee, which is north of £60m, for German playmaker Kai Havertz.
