Gary Neville has reacted to rumours that Chelsea are prepared to up the ante in the Anthony Gordon transfer race amid interest from Tottenham.
football.london understands that the Blues have so far had bids in the region of £40million and £45m turned down by the Toffees outright as they hold out for a fee in the region of £50-60m. It's a bold asking price that Frank Lampard hoped would scare off suitors. However, this plan seemingly hasn't worked as two London clubs are circling around the player with less than two weeks to go in this summer's transfer window.
Sky Sports have reported that Todd Boehly is prepared to go to the £60m mark for Gordon when add-ons are taken into account which will likely rule out the possibilities of seeing other players go the other way in what could have been a player plus cash deal with Everton keen admirers of the likes of Michy Batshuayi, Armando Broja and Billy Gilmour. Gordon, 21, has dropped multiple hints that he wants to move on from Merseyside and the latest one dropped on his Instagram suggests that an exit before September 1 is likely.
READ MORE: Anthony Gordon to Chelsea transfer: £60m bid, huge Instagram hint dropped, Tottenham hijack
Where he goes is still a mystery. football.london understands that Tottenham and Antonio Conte, despite falling behind the west Londoners in this ever-changing transfer race, are still there in the conversation and could make an eleventh-hour move if fringe players like Bryan Gil and others are moved on.
If Chelsea aren't to land Gordon, they could turn to AC Milan's Rafael Leao who has been the most recent attacker linked to a Stamford Bridge move. Rumours circulated on Monday suggesting that Boehly was in talks for a £80m plus players going the other way negotiation for the Portuguese star, who is also in talks with the Rossoneri to see about the viability of extending his current contract.
It is unknown currently whether or not Gordon and Leao alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a viable conclusion for Chelsea come September 1. Amid all the uncertainty and speculation that is attached to transfer windows at the late stage, Gary Neville has reacted to these latest rumours in relation to the Everton number 10.
He simply quote tweeted the eyes emoji following a story which reported Chelsea could pay £60m for the youngster, which despite not saying much about his thoughts and feelings on this transfer saga, suggests he's intrigued to see how it all plays out. His Sky Sports compatriot Jamie Carragher had already gone on record prior to Chelsea's first bid going in, where he said that he didn't see his boyhood club at the time selling for that price. That opinion could of course now change if asked again with the new £60m bid in mind.
"I don't see how Everton would accept that right now. They're lacking attacking players and he's the one big hope for the club. He's a local lad and he's the one they are all hanging their hats on. I think it will have to be a lot higher than that (£40million) for Everton to accept that."
Chelsea fans - would you rather sign Anthony Gordon for £60m or Rafael Leao for £80m? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
