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Chelsea will battle Man City in the race to sign highly rated Malaga youngster Isco according to the Daily Express.
Financially struggling La Liga side Malaga look likely to cash in on the 20 year old, not least because UEFA has banned the La Rosaleda side from competing at next season’s Champions League.
However Malaga will not allow a repeat of the cheap sales of the likes of Santi Cazorla and Salomon Rondon last summer and hence placed a £35m release clause into Isco’s latest contract and that is a fee that both Premier League sides can afford to meet.
Spanish international Isco is considered one of the hottest prospects in European football and has continued the fine form he showed to help Malaga secure a Champions League berth last term by putting in an even more effective stint in the current campaign.
Isco has been especially exceptional in Champions League action, scoring three goals and helping Malaga into the quarter-finals of the competition in their maiden adventure in the competition.
The Blues may see Isco as an ideal replacement for Frank Lampard, with the veteran seemingly set to leave Stamford Bridge this summer.
The presence of national team colleagues Juan Mata, Oriol Romeu and Cesar Azpilicueta may well help persuade Isco to opt for a move to the West London club.