Is Galatasaray's Wesley Sneijder Bound To Join Chelsea?
Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder could find his way to joining English Premier League (EPL) powerhouse Chelsea FC, after his current football club Galatasaray SK expressed their interest to sell the playmaker for £12.5 million ($20.9 million), a source close to situation reported on Tuesday.
Galatasaray president Unal Aysal confirmed the team's intention to make Sneijder available when the transfer window re-opens at the end of the season. He revealed that Manchester United FC indeed made an offer for the 29-year-old footballer last summer, but they are now interested to sell Sneijder to the Blues, who have been thriving since Jose Mourinho returned to the club, and are currently sitting in second place in the EPL standings.
"If Chelsea were to offer a deal worth over €15 million (£12.5m) I would give Sneijder permission to leave if that's what he wanted," Aysal said in an interview, according to Caught Offside.
Sneijder had his best Serie A season under Mourinho when the Dutch midfielder played for the coach at Inter Milan in Italy's Serie A league during the 2009/2010 campaign, scoring 8 goals and 16 assists in 41 total appearances and winning both the UEFA Champions League and Club World Cup titles that season.
According to Caught Offside, Mourinho's need to have a creative midfielder like Sneijder stemmed from the possibility of losing both Oscar or Eden Hazard to Paris Saint-Germain FC (PSG) this offseason.
"One does wonder if the Blues boss is in need of yet more creative midfield options but if Mourinho were to lose either Oscar or Eden Hazard this summer, with both being linked with moves to PSG, then Sneijder may well then be a relevant target," Caught Offside reported.
Sneijder has been outstanding since his arrival to the Turkish club in January last year. He has scored 17 goals in 51 appearances with the club, but with Galatasaray slipping in Turkey's Süper Lig standings, and losing ground to rival Fenerbahce SK, the likelihood of Sneijder leaving Telekom Arena is high.