The Blues have another defender on their shortlist
According to reports in Italy, Chelsea are preparing a January transfer window bid for AS Roma centre-back Kostas Manolas.
Italian media outlet Tuttomercatoweb claim that Chelsea failed with a bid on Deadline Day for the 24-year old, but couldn’t persuade Roma to let the 24-year old swap Serie A for the Premier League.
It was clear that Chelsea were desperate to bring in a centre-half during the summer. As well as the Manolas refusal, they also had two bids rejected for Paris Saint-Germain’s Marquinhos on Deadline Day.
Jose Mourinho also missed out on Everton’s John Stones, after they had three bids rejected by the Toffees. Instead, Nantes’ Papy Djilobodji and Reading’s Michael Hector were the defenders to move to Stamford Bridge.
Roma are standing their ground
Another Italian media outlet, Sussidiario, suggest that Chelsea are planning to lodge an improved second bid for the Greek international. However, Roma are reluctant to sell one of their star players and Manolas insists he is happy at the Stadio Olimpico.
When asked about the interest from the West London club in a Roma press conference, he said:Â “Chelsea? I can’t say that, I have another five-year contract. I’m happy to be here and I want to win something with this shirt.”
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