Euro 2024 perhaps hasn’t been the best international tournament in terms of excitement, however, one or two gems have emerged and both Chelsea and Newcastle are readying themselves to take advantage of one particular player’s contract situation.
According to CaughtOffside sources with knowledge of the most up to date discussions surrounding RB Salzburg’s 23-year-old Serbian defender Strahinja Pavlovic, the Blues and the Magpies are leading a five club chase for his services.
Chelsea want Strahinja Pavlovic
AC Milan, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers have been credited with a strong interest in Pavlovic, who is also appreciated by many other clubs thanks to the standard of his performances in the European Championship.
Milan are known to have offered Pavlovic an annual salary of between €1.5m and €2m, however, CaughtOffside sources are aware that the Premier League clubs are willing to better this.
Further, Milan consider the asking price of €30m too high at this stage and are ready to make an opening offer of around €20m.
This would again put them at a disadvantage in the race to land the player as sources indicate that both Chelsea and Newcastle will open their bidding at €25m.
Pavlovic began his professional career at Partizan Belgrade before an unsuccessful two-year spell at AS Monaco, which also included two loan moves to Cercle Brugge and Basel.
The 23-year-old has been with RB Salzburg since 2022, and those ‘shop window’ displays in Germany have really put him on the map, hence the interest from teams in the English and Italian top flights.
What isn’t clear at this stage is the player’s own preference for his next playing destination, though this may be dictated by which club puts the most money on the table both in terms of remuneration for Pavlovic himself, and transfer fee due to RB Salzburg.