According to reports from Gianluca Di Marzio via The Metro, Chelsea are leading the pack in the race to sign Bologna midfielder Amadou Diawara.
The 18-year-old has shown great promise since receiving his Serie A debut in August, following a summer move from San Marino, averaging 1.7 tackles and 2.3 interceptions per match from his twelve outings in the Italian top flight.
The Blues were looking at Ghana prospect Godfred Donsah, coincidentally now of Bologna, during the summer in an effort to provide better competition for Nemanja Matic and Diawara is of a similar mould, as a powerful and industrious play-breaking midfielder with his best years still some way ahead of him.
Di Marzio claim the Guinea-born teenager’s agent Robert Visan has already reached an agreement with Pini Zahavi, the Israeli once described as ‘the world’s one and only super-agent‘ who helped broker Roman Abramovich’s deal to buy Chelsea in 2003.
That puts the west Londoners in pole position, but AC Milan and Juventus are also known to be interested.