Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini claims Premier League duo Chelsea and Manchester City, plus Serie A side Roma, are battling it out to sign Javier Pastore.
Zamparini has imposed a Tuesday deadline for any deal to be done for Pastore and the Italian media claim Chelsea are favourites to land the €50 million playmaker.
Pastore, 22, has already been the subject of a rejected €45 million bid from "a major European side" and Zamparini believes there are now just three clubs in the running to sign the Argentina international.
"I cannot say who has the advantage between Chelsea, Manchester City or Roma. I can only underline that I'm interested in cash deals," Zamparini told Gazzetta dello Sport.
Any move for Pastore or a renewed bid for Tottenham's Luka Modric would appear to have the blessing of Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay.
Like Barcelona midfielder Oriol Romeu, for whom Chelsea have agreed a £5 million fee, Pastore would help fill the void left by Michael Essien, who was recently ruled out for six months with a serious knee injury.
It remains to be seen if manager Andre Villas-Boas is ready to push through a deal.
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