Chelsea Bid For Pato Accepted
Alexandre Pato could be on the way to Stamford Bridge after Independiente reportedly accept an offer from the West London club.
17 year-old Brazilian forward Alexandre Pato may be on World Under-20 Championship duty in Canada at the moment, but his next port of call could be Stamford Bridge.
The young Internacional striker has been subject to monitoring from Real Madrid, Inter, Milan and Chelsea, and each club has made an official approach for the player. However, it is understood that Chelsea's offer is superior.
With a bid in the region of 20 million euros (£9.9m), the Blues may yet have the best chance of landing the Parana-born youngster, who has already established himself as a regular with the Copa Libertadores holders.
Pato's agent, Gilmar Veloz, is looking to move his client on and is expected to travel to London with the player's father to strike a deal with the Chelsea hierarchy.
The agent stated that gaining a work permit could be problematic, but also emphasised that the options are still very much open for Pato, saying, "We have not decided whether he would go to Chelsea, Milan, Inter or Real Madrid."
This could potentially be the start of a bidding war, but at the moment Chelsea seem to be the favourites to land "The Duck." The player is still under 18 and cannot legally move, but all clubs concerned will seek to tie up his signature before his birthday on 2 September, at which point he can join his new teammates.
Goal.com