Chelsea have joined the battle for Udinese star Alexis Sanchez. The National, which is based in Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour's home country, says Andre Villas-Boas, the new Chelsea manager, has taken a hands-on role in the overhaul of the club, personally calling Sanchez to sell the Chile international on the merits of joining him at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea hope that the intervention of Villas-Boas will help persuade Sanchez to choose them over Barcelona, Manchester United and Manchester City.
Roman Abramovich has supported the move with a financial package to Udinese that matches City's offer of £31.2 million plus £8.9m in conditional bonuses and exceeds Barcelona's bid of £25m plus players.
