Chelsea's Mario Pasalic set to join Atalanta for £12.5m in summer

Mario Pasalic is poised to make a permanent move to Atalanta from Chelsea in the summer after the Italian side agreed to take up the €15m (£12.5m) option to buy the Croatian midfielder.

Pasalic moved to Stamford Bridge in 2014 from Hajduk Split but has yet to make a single appearance for Chelsea having previously been on loan at Elche, Monaco, Milan and Spartak Moscow.

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The 25-year-old joined Atalanta on an initial season-long loan in 2018 and helped Gian Piero Gasperini’s side to qualify for this season’s Champions League before agreeing to move to Lombardy for a second season last summer having signed a new contract at Chelsea until 2022.

Pasalic scored the winning goal in Atalanta’s 2-1 win against Roma on Saturday which cemented their grip on fourth place in Serie A and it is understood that an agreement for his permanent transfer is now in place.

Chelsea have already agreed a €40m (£33.6m) deal, potentially rising to €44m, with Ajax for the Morocco midfielder Hakim Ziyech. The 26-year-old will complete his transfer on 1 July.