Chelsea make €35 million bid for AC Milan defender — report

With Chelsea signing Koulibaly looking increasingly unlikely by the minute, the Blues are poking around elsewhere. According to Sky Sport Italia, Chelsea have made an offer for AC Milan defender Alessio Romagnoli. But, in a familiar refrain, Chelsea’s initial approach of €35 million was outright rejected by the Rossoneri, since they consider the 21-year-old player "unsellable".

The 21-year-old Italian centre back spent his youth career at Roma, signing his first professional contract in 2012. After a highly impressive loan spell at Serie A club Sampdoria, he joined Milan last summer for €25 million, signing a five-year deal on his arrival.

At Milan, Romagnoli quickly established himself as first choice. Alongside former Chelsea man Alex, the young ball-playing defender helped Milan achieve a 7th place finish, improving on 10th place from the previous season.

Chelsea had been linked with Romagnoli before, back in February, but given his talent, potential, and importance to Milan, Chelsea would probably be forced to spend an incredible amount on him in the current market atmosphere. Other teams know that Chelsea short on time and even shorter on leverage; only silly quantities of cash will get the Blues the opportunity to acquire upgrades to the first team squad.