Chelsea target CSKA Moscow midfielder Golovin

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Bengaluru, December 11: Premier League champions Chelsea are ready to snap up CSKA Moscow’s new midfield star Aleksandr Golovin.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is willing to pay around £15 million for his compatriot whom he believes could be a valuable addition to the club.

The Chelsea owner could either bring him into the squad for Antonio Conte in January or send him back to his homeland on loan for the rest of the season.

Giolovin is tipped to be the hosts’ leading light at the World Cup and Chelsea want to tie him down now rather than face an auction if he does well.

However, Abramovich is also conscious of the fact that Golovin needs to play in the second half of the season, so he could be bought and then left in Russian club football.

Chelsea boss Conte has been complaining about signings this season after losing Nemanja Matic to Manchester United. There is clearly a distance between the manager and the club's recruitment board over the signings and Abramovich wants it sorted as early as possible.

There is very little chance that the Russian international would be an immediate starter at Stamford Bridge, though.

Golovin could be groomed to take over from Cesc Fabregas in time. He has vast experience for a player of his age with over a dozen full caps and almost 100 first-team appearances for his club and could learn a lot from Fabregas over time.

Abramovich has strong ties in his own country and his company sponsored CSKA in the past and it should not be a problem for him to sign Golovin ahead of the other clubs in Europe.

Other clubs, including Arsenal and Liverpool, have looked at Golovin but Chelsea would have a strong chance of winning any signing race thanks to their Russian owner.