Chelsea determined to sign £35m Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from Arsenal as Antonio Conte targets English trio

Oxlade-Chamberlain is due to meet Arsene Wenger today, when Chelsea hope he will tell the Arsenal manager that he wants to move to Stamford Bridge. Other than bidding £35 million for Oxlade-Chamberlain, Chelsea are still working towards finding an agreement for Danny Drinkwater, who Leicester City value at £40 million, and are refusing to give up on £25 million Ross Barkley, despite Tottenham Hotspur leading the chase for the Everton midfielder.

Ideally, Chelsea want to complete deals for all three Englishmen before the transfer window closes next Thursday and have not yet given up on left-back Alex Sandro, despite Juventus publicly claiming he will not be sold.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has entered the final 12 months of his Arsenal contract and has already informed Wenger he will not sign a new deal. With Chelsea now stepping up their interest, under the orders of head coach Antonio Conte, it is unlikely the 24-year-old will change his stance, even if Arsenal offer fresh terms worth more than £100,000 a week.

That would make it incredibly tough for Wenger to maintain his stance that Oxlade-Chamberlain will not be sold this month. Wenger could be left with the scenario of either selling Oxlade-Chamberlain to Chelsea now or watching him join for free in 12 months.

Conte is personally pushing for the signing of a player he believes would be a vital addition to his squad because of his versatility.

Oxlade-Chamberlain can play at wing-back, in central midfield or on the wing and Chelsea need reinforcements in all three positions.

Wenger has made it clear he will try to convince Oxlade-Chamberlain to stay at the Emirates before considering Chelsea’s bid.

Speaking about Oxlade-Chamberlain last week, Wenger said: “I rate him highly, he is one of the players who is on his way up and has made huge progress. I want him to stay here for a long time.”

Chelsea have already failed with one bid of around £15 million for Drinkwater, but with talks still open, there is optimism that an agreement can be found.

Drinkwater is keen to make the move to Stamford Bridge, where he could reunite with N’Golo Kante, and Craig Shakespeare, the Leicester manager, has admitted the 27-year-old could leave if the right offer arrives.

Chelsea have already signed midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko this summer, but Conte wants more cover after the departure of Nemanja Matic to Manchester United.

David Luiz was forced to play as a makeshift midfielder against Tottenham Hotspur, although Cesc Fabregas is back from suspension for Sunday’s clash against Everton.

The visit of Everton to Stamford Bridge will allow Chelsea to step up negotiations over Barkley, who Tottenham have been chasing all summer.

Despite his hamstring injury, Spurs are expected to submit an opening bid of £20 million, plus £8 million in add-ons, and remain favourites to land Barkley.

But Chelsea will not give up without a fight and will make an offer of their own for the 23-year-old, who has been ruled out for the next three months after tearing his hamstring.

Like Oxlade-Chamberlain, Barkley has entered the final 12 months of his contract and is unlikely to sign a new deal at Everton, who valued him at £50 million at the start of the summer.

Everton’s bargaining position has been weakened by Barkley’s injury, but the Goodison Park club will hope a bidding war between Tottenham and Chelsea can drive the initial price back up to £25 million.

Completing deals for all three, or any, of their English targets would give Chelsea’s home-grown quota a big boost as they combine Premier League and Champions League campaigns this season.

They remain prepared to pay £60 million for Brazil international Sandro, even though Juve have publicly stated he will not be sold this month.

That message has not yet been privately communicated to Chelsea and they will make a final bid for the player before the transfer window shuts.

As with all clubs, Chelsea have fall-back options lined up in case the moves for Oxlade-Chamberlain, Drinkwater, Barkley and Sandro fail, and could also bid for a forward. But, at this stage, those are the four players they are concentrating most of their efforts on.

Chelsea remain interested in signing Virgil van Dijk but will not make a bid for the central defender unless Southampton indicate they are willing to do business.

Chelsea have dismissed reports from Germany that former Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel has been lined up to replace Conte.