Well, that didn’t take long!
Just hours after submitting a ‘very high’ bid for AC Milan centreback Alessio Romagnoli, Chelsea have seen their offer rejected by the Italian side. Sky Sports are reporting that the bid was £30 million.
It is understood that the Rossoneri are unwilling to sell the Italian international this window, just one year after Romagnoli left Roma for AC Milan for £21 million.
It should also be noted that AC Milan are set to be taken over by new investors, and many journalists in the Italian media see that a potential Romagnoli sale would not be wise considering he’s been earmarked as a future building block for a club so desperate to be rebuilt.
The 21-year-old defender can also play left back and has appeared at every youth level for the Italian national team, but has yet to make his senior debut at international level.
This is the first known bid for a new centre back, after the Blues have been rebuffed in their numerous attempts to pry Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli, forcing Chelsea to warn the Serie A club that they will not submit a bid higher than their final offer, £40 million.
It is also rumoured that Napoli’s stinginess over the French-born Senegalese defender could open up a £25 million bid from Chelsea for Napoli target Nikola Maksimovic.
Maksimovic has essentially gone on strike at Torino in an attempt to force a move away from Turin.
