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Chelsea place forgotten man on transfer list, as two suitors wait to swoop

Chelsea reportedly have two suitors to choose from when selling the transfer-listed Davide Zappacosta – but one is more likely than the other to meet their asking price.

Zappacosta is something of a forgotten figure at Stamford Bridge. He joined the club in 2017 but only made 26 Premier League appearances across two seasons. Since then, he has spent time on loan at Roma – a spell disrupted by injury – and Genoa.

With one year left on his contract back in London, Chelsea are now trying to offload the Italian while the transfer window remains open.

According to Calciomercato, Genoa would like to take him back after he made 25 appearances and scored four goals for them last season. However, they are not his only admirers.

Also competing for Zappacosta’s signature are Fiorentina, but only if they sell Pol Lirola, another of their current right-back options. La Viola are willing to meet Chelsea’s requests for the right-back, which currently stand at €5m.

It would be a significant loss on their initial €28m investment, but the important thing for Chelsea now is to get him off the books. So much so, they have formally put him on the transfer list because he is not in Thomas Tuchel’s plans.

In their attempts of selling him, they tried to offer him to Inter as a makeweight for Romelu Lukaku. Zappacosta was of interest to the Serie A champions, but they declined the offer due to their preference of maximising their profits from the Lukaku sale.

Therefore, it will be a two-horse race to sign Zappacosta. Genoa have not given up hope, the report insists, but another change of scenery to Fiorentina is a growing possibility.

Thus, Chelsea will have to accept whatever offer they deem best. The player’s preference has not been made clear, despite his time with Genoa last season.

Either move still has obstacles; for Genoa, it would be meeting the asking price, whereas for Fiorentina, it would be shifting Lirola first. Only once either can meet those conditions can they firm up their interest in Zappacosta.

Another Chelsea full-back set for Italian move

Meanwhile, another Italian among the Chelsea ranks could return to Serie A.

Napoli are seeking to strengthen their full-back areas as well and have identified another Chelsea player as a potential target.

He is still their backup option, though, in case a deal for a West Ham target falls through…

READ MORENapoli to pursue Chelsea transfer if West Ham beat them to signing

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