Chelsea are reportedly set to table an improved £45 million bid to reunite Maurizio Sarri with Italian international Daniele Rugani
According to a report by Goal, Chelsea are set to step up their interest to sign Daniele Rugani in the summer transfer window. The Blues are preparing a £45 million bid for the Italian international after their initial offer worth £36 million was knocked back by Juventus.
Rugani has found regular game time hard to come by during his time with the Juventus first-team setup. The departure of Leonardo Bonucci last summer barely improved things and the Italian international has seen his progress stutter somewhat as a result.
With the 23-year-old eager to secure regular first-team football next season to get his career back on track, a move away from Juventus has been mooted. While there has been no dearth of interest in him, Chelsea have been the front-runners in his pursuit for some time now.
The Blues do seem to be well stocked in the defensive department. But, a closer would suggest why the need to sign a centre-back is urgent. David Luiz and Gary Cahill are likely to depart Stamford Bridge this summer, while the future of Kurt Zouma remains unclear.
That leaves new manager Maurizio Sarri with just Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger as his recognised options, with Cesar Azpilicueta likely to return to the right-back slot. The Chelsea boss has thus, set his sights on another one of his former charges, having already reunited with Jorginho.
Rugani has previously played under Sarri during their time together at Empoli. The Italian international, on loan from Juventus for two seasons, spent his formative years under the Chelsea manager, who saw the youngster as one of his key players. The two are known to share a lot of admiration for each other.
That Rugani is also comfortable on the ball makes him a viable solution within Sarri’s possession-based system. Chelsea though, have had to formulate a second bid after their initial offer was rejected by Juventus. But, their latest bid, worth £45 million is closer to the Bianconeri’s valuation of the Italian international.
Negotiations are expected to be accelerated this week, and with not a lot of time left for the buying window to slam shut in England, the Blues do need to pick up pace in order to land the player. It now remains to be seen if the latest bid helps Chelsea sign Rugani, or if they are forced to raise their offer.
