Chelsea quoted £36m price to sign Argentine midfielder

Zenit St Petersburg have reportedly told Chelsea to part with a sum of around £36m in order to secure the signature of Leandro Paredes this month.

The Blues are in the market for a replacement for Cesc Fabregas, who recently joined Monaco and this has seen them linked with both Paredes and Nicolo Barella.

Moreover, the Blues are said to have failed with a £26.8m bid for Paredes earlier in the week and The Mail now claims that Zenit have placed their transfer demands on the table.

The Russian giants are open to the mid-season sale of the Argentina international but they are understood to want a fee of at least £36m to sanction his switch to the Bridge.

Paredes, who was previously in the ranks of AS Roma, is deemed to have already agreed personal terms over a £80,000-a-week contract with the Blues but the club need to make progress in terms of the fee to push through the move.