Chelsea Transfer News: Romeu, Modric, Neymar, Pato and Alex

Chelsea get their season underway on August 14, when they travel to Britannia Stadium to play Stoke, though the Blues continue to have their eye on upgrading their current squad.

Chelsea have finally sealed the deal on Barcelona midfielder Oriol Romeu on a four-year contract for €5 million.The hard tackling 19-year-old is expected at Stamford Bridge after playing with Spain in the World Under-20 Championships in Colombia.

Barcelona have confirmed the deal includes a buy-back clause of £8.7 million after one year and £13 million after two. Romeu had stated earlier this week that the deal was imminent.

Before the deal, it had a been a very inactive summer transfer period for the Blues.

Meanwhile, Chelsea continue to pursue Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric and improve on their £30 million bid, according to multiple reports. The Blues have been interested in Modric for several months, and Spurs have been firm that Modric is not for sale, so a transfer is probably not likely anytime soon. Tottenham have rejected bids of £22 million and £27 million for the playmaker.

New manager Andre Villas-Boas also continues to show interest in adding Alexandre Pato, according to Daily Mirror. The Brazilian striker is coming off a rather poor showing in Copa America.

Pato's teammate in Copa America, Neymar, might still be on the Chelsea's radar. According to the Independent, Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala have joined Chelsea and Real Madrid in seeking to sign Neymar. There has been speculation that Neymar's agent is responsible for creating this buzz, and that Santos may not be interested in dealing the forward.

As for other forwards, The Guardian and Daily Mail have reported this summer that Romelu Lukaku has been the target of Chelsea, and the offer at the moment appears to be £20 million. The striker dubbed "the new Didier Drogba" has also received interest from Arsenal.

Meanwhile defender Alex reportedly has become a target of Juventus, to go along with interest from Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Zenit. St. Petersburg. Alex is expected to command a fee of roughly £12 million.