Chelsea back in the hunt for AS Roma duo — report

From February to August, we had to endure a barrage of speculation about a potential transfer for AS Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan. We thought we were out done with all that once he decided to stay (and they promised him a new contract), but from the looks of it, that’s not necessarily the case just yet.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Calciomercato), Chelsea are back in the hunt for Radja Nainggolan, as well as his teammate in defender Kostas Manolas. Both players are reportedly "annoyed" with Roma's failure to address their contract needs.

In Nainggolan's case, he was promised a new raise to €5 million per year despite having signed a 5-year contract just the year prior. However, his club have kept mum on any negotiations.

Manolas is in a similar situation, although he actually has been offered a new contract unlike Nainggolan. But Manolas is demanding €3 million per year, and Roma are only willing to offer only €2.5 million. Talks are thus stalling over the new contract, and Chelsea could use the circumstances to sweep in for the players.

While it certainly sounds like that Chelsea are just being used by the agents in both situations to help the negotiations proceed in their favor, should there be some substance to these rumors, both Nainggolan and Manolas could prove useful pieces in the squad. However, as with many other rumors lately, they would not come cheap, nor would they provide clear upgrades in either midfield or defense ... so what would be the point of spending all that money?