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Sports EdgeWELL POURNovember 14, 20263 min readAd-free
Como's Baturina draws four Premier League bids as clubs split on €30M valuation
Chelsea and Manchester United face competition from two undisclosed English clubs; Como holds firm on asking price while bidders cluster at €22M-€25M.
Sports Edge deskSports Edge · Huang Goodman
In plain words
Four Premier League clubs bid **€22M-€25M** for Como's Baturina; Como holds at **€30M** with no urgency to sell before February 10 deadline.
€5-8 million
below that number
€25 million
according to intermediaries working the deal
30
senior appearances
18
league matches this season
Four Premier League clubs have submitted formal expressions of interest for Como forward Martin Baturina, creating the first contested bidding environment of the January window. Como, currently seventh in Serie A, has set a €30 million floor. The bidding cluster sits €5-8 million below that number.
Chelsea and Manchester United confirmed interest three weeks ago. Two additional English clubs entered conversations last week, though their identities remain undisclosed pending board approval for formal bids. All four offers arrived between €22 million and €25 million, according to intermediaries working the deal. Como has not moved off €30 million. The club's ownership group, backed by Indonesian tobacco money and fronted by former Chelsea defender Michael Essien in an advisory role, sees no liquidity pressure. Baturina's contract runs through June 2027. He has no release clause.
The pricing standoff matters because it establishes the market for mid-tier Serie A forwards with fewer than 30 senior appearances. Baturina, 21, has four goals and three assists in 18 league matches this season. His profile fits the archetype Premier League academies struggle to produce: technically clean, positionally flexible, physically developed, immediately available for cup registration. Chelsea's recruitment model under Clearlake Capital prioritizes exactly this bracket—players young enough to amortize over eight-year contracts but experienced enough to contribute within six months. Manchester United's interest signals a tactical hedge: Erik ten Hag wants a rotational forward who can play wide or central, particularly with Jadon Sancho's future unresolved and Antony's output declining.
The two undisclosed clubs complicate the auction mechanics. If one is Newcastle, their Financial Fair Play flexibility after player sales gives them structural clearance to meet Como's number outright. If one is Aston Villa, their need for depth ahead of a Champions League quarterfinal run in April creates urgency Chelsea and United lack. The bidding cluster suggests none of the four clubs view Baturina as transformational, which puts Como in a familiar negotiating position: hold the price and wait for desperation, or accept €25 million with performance add-ons that may never trigger.
Como's leverage extends beyond contract length. Serie A clubs sold €280 million worth of talent to the Premier League last summer, the highest figure since 2019. January pricing tends to run 15-20% above equivalent summer deals due to mid-season scarcity. Como can credibly argue that €30 million in January equals €25 million in July, meaning any club paying the asking price today is effectively buying at a discount against summer competition. The club has also floated the possibility of a loan-with-obligation structure, which would defer cash outflow until summer but lock in the fee now. None of the four clubs have engaged that framework yet.
Baturina's camp, represented by a Croatian agency with limited Premier League placement history, is pushing for clarity by February 10—two weeks before the winter window closes. The player prefers Chelsea or Manchester United for brand reasons, but would accept either undisclosed club if they guarantee immediate starting minutes. His wage demands sit at £60,000-£70,000 per week, standard for a rotation forward but meaningful when multiplied across an eight-year deal. Chelsea's offer reportedly includes £65,000 base with appearance bonuses. Manchester United's structure remains unclear.
Watch for Como's fixture against Napoli on February 8. If Baturina starts and performs well in a televised match, his price floor holds. If he's benched or ineffective, the €25 million cluster becomes the effective market. The two undisclosed clubs are expected to confirm identities when they file formal bids, likely within 72 hours of that match. Chelsea's ownership has allocated budget for one forward signing this window; if Baturina pricing stalls, they will redirect to Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo, whose club is asking €45 million.
The deal structure that closes this will set the template for how Premier League clubs value Serie A rotation pieces through summer. Como knows it. So do the four clubs circling.
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Sources and method
Company figures can be checked against each filer's own reports on the boards: .
Written with artificial intelligence from public sources and published without individual human review. Corrections: jenny@pops4.com.
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