Chelsea have confirmed the sale of Mario Pasalic to Atalanta after the Serie A club officially activated their option to purchase of the midfielder for £13.5million.

The Croatia international had been in Bergamo on loan since July 2018 at a cost of €2.5m, so the full cost of the operation is €17.5m.

The 25-year-old has been a regular in the side throughout the campaign, netting seven goals and seven assists in 33 competitive games this season.

Atalanta have been one of the teams of the season throughout Europe, and they have exercised the buy option in the loan, with the Blues set to receive £13.5million for the transfer.

“Mario Pasalic stays with us! Our #88 is an Atalanta player on a permanent basis!” read a tweet from the Atalanta website.

He was purchased by Chelsea from Hajduk Split in 2014 for €2.5m, but then went on a series of loan spells with Elche, Monaco, Milan, Spartak Moscow and now Atalanta.