Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts

Chelsea up their offer for Italian defender Daniele Rugani

Chelsea are set to make an improved £45million offer for Juventus defender Daniele Rugani, who is wanted by their new manager Maurizio Sarri.

Daniele Rugani, Juventus defender (Image: Twitter)

Bengaluru, July 25: Premier League giants Chelsea are set to make an improved £45million offer for Juventus defender Daniele Rugani, who is wanted by their new manager Maurizio Sarri.

According to reports in the UK, the Blues are ready to up their £36m offer for the 23-year-old Italy international.

The Italian defender played under Maurizio Sarri at Empoli and is seen to have a bright future in the Azzurri defence.

Club director Marina Granovskaia, who is in charge of transfers at Stamford Bridge, is poised to table nearly £10m more than the original offer. This is mainly done to tempt Juventus to immediately sell Rugani.

According to reports, Chelsea's initial offer was knocked back immediately by the Serie A holders, who want a good price for the 6ft 3in centre-back as they look to balance their books after the purchase of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Chelsea played their first pre-season game under Sarri on Tuesday as they beat Perth Glory 1-0 in Australia.

Spanish winger Pedro scored the winner for the Blues as Jorginho made his non-competitive debut against the A-League side.

They now head back to Europe for a friendly against Inter Milan in Nice and another against Arsenal in Dublin, before the Community Shield match on August 5 against Manchester City.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are close to signing Spanish keeper Pepe Reina from AC Milan, despite the fact the Spanish stopper joined the Rossoneri just days ago. Sarri worked with the former Liverpool stopper at Napoli, where he made 111 appearances before joining Milan this summer.

Chelsea look all set to lose the services of Thibaut Courtois under the bar. The Belgian looks close to joining Real Madrid and the deal could be completed any time soon.

They need an experienced goalkeeper who can replace Courtois and even at this age, Reina is a brilliant custodian.

However, it is also likely that the Blues might go for a more younger keeper if they sell Courtois but Reina can prove to be a smart insurance plan if they fail to do so.

Story first published: Wednesday, July 25, 2018, 17:17 [IST]
Other articles published on Jul 25, 2018