Chelsea’s constant failures in signing a potent central defender has seen them get linked with Lazio’s Stefan De Vrij. According to reports from Sunday People, Blues have been priced out of a deal to sign Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly in recent weeks.
Chelsea have grown out of patience with Napoli’s delay over agreeing to the transfer fee for Koulibaly. Serie A side are not willing to come down from their £45m valuation for the defender which has seen Chelsea pull out of the transfer.
According to Mirror (via Sunday People), De Vrij has emerged as the most suited defensive target for Chelsea in last 24 hours and with the reported £15m price tag, Blues are confident of wrapping up a deal sooner rather than later.
New manager Antonio Conte has demanded a commanding central defender at his disposal before the start of next season. After missing out on Leonardo Bonucci, Kostas Manolas and now Kalidou Koulibaly, De Vrij seems to be the best and perhaps the only quality option available for Chelsea.
Conte has already wrapped up signings of Michy Batshuayi and N’Golo Kante this summer and is keen to add De Vrij to his squad in coming weeks.
Elsewhere, Riyad Mahrez’s name has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in last 24 hours with reports confirming of the Algerian star’s signing in a reported €50m deal.