"Two clubs from the UK": Lille president opens up on reported Chelsea transfer target

LOSC Lille president Gerard Lopez has spoken up about defender Gabriel Magalhaes amid reported interest from Chelsea. The 22-year-old has attracted interests and the club have received several offers. In an interview with Sky Sports, Lopez said: “It’s true that he would like to go and try something else out. We haven’t taken that decision yet, but he’s received a number of offers. I feel he’s closer to one club than others, but nothing’s done yet so we’ll see.” Lopez said the choice will be in Gabriel’s hands but he also has a certain price in mind. “He’s an absolute machine, so to me, he’s well on his way – if not this year – to potentially a really big club. I’m certain he’s on his way to the Brazilian national team at some point,” he added. Lopez specifically mentioned “two clubs from the United Kingdom” among the interested parties. He added: “I’ve been talking to a number of very big clubs who, like big companies or big institutions, take situations like this as a potential opportunity to strengthen themselves going forward.” Lopez has played down the talks that there could be a decrease in their valuation. He said: “That’s not come up in the discussions I’ve been having. We’ve been working on things, and I’m confident of closing some of those deals in the next couple of weeks.” Gabriel has had 24 appearances in which he started in 23 of them for in Ligue 1 this season. He has joint-most clean sheets (12) and joint-fourth lowest goals conceded (27). Source: TheChelseaChronicle

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