The Blues face competition from the French champions for a key transfer target, but the bigger issue may be his club’s valuation.

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Leandro Paredes is keen on a move to either Paris Saint-Germain or Chelsea and has agreed with both clubs on the terms of a proposed move but Zenit are holding firm on a fee of around €40m (£36m/$46m), Goal understands.

PSG have long held an interest in the Argentina international, who emerged as a Chelsea target this month when Cesc Fabregas left the club on a free transfer to join Monaco.

As reported on Goal earlier in the week, Zenit are yet to allow talks between Chelsea and their player over around a €10m (£9m/$11m) difference in valution of him.

The Premier League club’s initial approach for 24-year-old was €30m (£27m/$34m), but there is caution over Zenit’s position to encourage a bidding war.

Maurizio Sarri was once again clear ahead of his side’s match away at Arsenalthat he would like to see a replacement come in for Fabregas.

“You know my opinion about the replacement of Cesc,” Sarri said.

“We need a replacement, in my opinion. Marina knows very well my opinion. So I’m not frustrated at the moment.”

Chelsea are also working on a deal to bring in Gonzalo Higuain and have reached an agreement with Juventus. Their deal hinges on Milan getting a replacement in for Higuain, which is expected to be the €40m (£36m/$46m) rated Krzysztof Piątek.

They also need to offload Alvaro Morata, who has an agreement with Atletico Madrid, but the Blues have yet to agreed the deal on their side.

Meanwhile, they are also hoping to resist a £35m ( €40m/$45m) approach from Bayern Munich and agree a contract renewal with Callum Hudson-Odoi.

PSG are also targeting Dortmund midfielder Julian Weigl but they believe they could accommodate both players in their squad.

Source – Goal.com