CSKA Moscow president Evgeniy Giner has warned Chelsea they must beat rivals if they are to secure the signing of Aleksandr Golovin.
The 22-year-old Golovin, one of the stars of Russia’s run to the World Cup quarter-finals, is expected to depart CSKA this summer and is one of Chelsea’s top targets.
The Blues have long been confident that they will be able to get a deal for the Russian international across the line but have made heavy weather of their transfer business so far this summer, with former Napoli midfielder Jorginho the only major arrival so far and head coach Maurizio Sarri having only been appointed to succeed Antonio Conte last week.
That could open the door for a rival to sneak in and claim Golovin, with Giner claiming Monaco have expressed an interest in the highly-rated playmaker.
"In order not to ruin [Golovin] we must let him go. But we have no solution for today," he told Sport24.
"When we receive an offer, we always try to negotiate openly.
"Indeed, we were visited by the vice-president of Monaco [Vadim Vasilyev] and made a proposal for Golovin.
"Chelsea? There is no closed arrangement with them. But the question of his transition to another club will be decided, I think, in the next couple of days."
