CHELSEA have reportedly stolen a march on Tottenham and Liverpool in the pursuit of Bruno Fernandes.
The Sporting Lisbon midfielder, 23 is in the sights of the Premier League trio after an impressive first season in Portugal.
And, according to Portuguese daily A Bola, Chelsea have now made contact with the Portuguese international.
But Blues may have to negotiate a hefty fee with Sporting, who inserted a 100million euro (£88m) release fee when they signed him from Sampdoria last summer.
Fernandes has netted 16 goals and laid on 20 assists in his 53 games for Sporting, who sit five points back from league leaders Porto with four games to go.
He struggled to settle in the early part of his career, having come through the ranks at Boavista before moving to Italy when he was 18.
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After one season at Serie B outfit Novara he earned a move up a flight to Udinese.
Three full campaigns later he moved to Sampdoria, who he left for a return to his homeland in a deal worth around £7m last summer.
Fernandes has won four caps for Portugal and will expect to be in Fernando Santos’ squad for the World Cup.
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