According to recent reports, an agreement has finally been made between Chelsea FC and Serie A club Atalanta over the transfer of midfielder Mario Pasalic.
The deal is rumored to cost the Italian club a sum of £13.5m, an amount on which the Blues can claim a sizeable profit considering that they signed Pasalic for £3m back in 2014.
The midfielder has not made a single competitive appearance for Chelsea FC since signing for the club six years ago.
There have been many rumors in the past alleging that Pasalic has signed for Atalanta. However, now it is claimed that a deal has been agreed upon by Atalanta CEO Luca Percassi and Marina Granovskaia, the director of Chelsea FC.
Moreover, Granovskaia was persistent in not allowing Atalanta to negotiate an amount lower than £13.5m, with the Serie A club trying on several occasions.
The Croatian midfielder Pasalic has been on loan at Atalanta since 2018, spending two loan terms at the Italian club in the process. However, he signed a new contract with the Blues in July 2019 with the contract extending his stay at Chelsea FC until 2022.
In December 2019, Atalanta managed to negotiate a €15 million option to buy to be activated at the end of the current season to secure the permanent transfer of Pasalic, who has shown an impressive growth as a footballer while playing for them since the past two seasons.
The 25-year old Pasalic has been an integral part of the Atalanta squad, which has achieved some historical results in the past couple of seasons, including a best-ever third-place finish in the Serie A league table.
Also, the subsequent qualification for the UEFA Champions League was a significant feat for the Italian club who currently sits in fourth place in this season’s Serie A league table.
Pasalic himself had previously expressed his desire to stay at Atalanta permanently and stated that he hoped that the Serie A club activated the buyout clause in his loan agreement. Severe lack of playing opportunities at Chelsea FC and being shipped out for loan terms at different clubs for the past six seasons had compelled the Croatian to find a permanent stay, which he hoped would be Atalanta itself.
