Chelsea closing in on Brazilian winger Bernard Duarte after missing out on Aleksandr Golovin

London, July 27: Chelsea are now eyeing to make a move for the Shakhtar Donetsk winger Bernard Duarte in this summer transfer window. The Blues were looking to get Aleksandr Golovin at the beginning of this transfer season but as things stand now, the Russian is on the verge of joining AS Monaco.

After missing out their primary target Aleksandr Golovin, Chelsea are going for the 25-year-old Brazilian winger.

Bernard began his football career at Atletico Mineiro in 2006. His short height was the reason behind his exclusion from the youth system of Atletico Mineiro, two times.

Bernard was then loaned to Democrata in the summer transfer window of 2010-11 season. He has made 16 appearances for Democrata scored 14 goals for the side in a very short period of time.

Following his good performance for Democrata, Bernard was called back at Mineiro in the winter transfer window of that season. He has scored one goal for the Brazilian national side in his career so far.

Bernard was phenomenal for Mineiro in his three seasons’ stint at the Brazilian side. The Brazilian has made 100 appearances in all competitions for Mineiro and scored 22 goals for his side.

After that, Bernard completed his move to Shakhtar Donetsk with a transfer fee worth £25 million in the 2013-14 season. He was regular in the Donetsk side from the first season itself.

The Brazilian winger has made 157 appearances for Donetsk in the five years at the Ukrainian side. He has scored 28 goals in all competitions for them in all competitions.

Bernard was regular in the Brazilian national squad under the management of Luiz Felipe Scolari. He was also named in the 23-man-provisional squad of Brazil in the 2014 World Cup.

His contract with Shakhtar Donetsk expired at the end of the previous season. Now, many top European clubs are interested to sign the 25-year-old winger, who could play at both the wings.

He can also be deployed as an attacking midfielder for the sake of his side. His versatility will surely attract his suitors in this summer. So, we can say that Bernard will surely be a good addition to the squad of the Blues in the next season under the management of Maurizio Sarri.