Conte ups ante for Milan star
CHELSEA are refusing to give up on exciting young AC Milan defender Alessio Romagnoli – but could be forced to pay more than £40million to land him.
Milan have confirmed they have rejected a second bid from the Blues for the highly-rated centre-back, 21.
The offer to the Italian giants is understood to be worth £30m with another £4m in bonuses.
But Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is determined to bring Romagnoli to Stamford Bridge and the club are equally keen to back him – even if it means scrapping their insistence on not paying over the odds.
Chelsea go into their home game against Burnley tomorrow with just four fit defenders and on the back on an unconvincing League Cup win over Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night.
Tweeting from their verified social media account, a Milan statement said: “ACMilan has received a significant offer for its player Alessio Romagnoli from @ChelseaFC, but the player is not for sale.”
As revealed by Mirror Football, Milan’s incoming Chinese owners – still trying to complete their purchase of the club – are keen to convince fans of their ambition.
They fear selling off Romagnoli, an Italy Under-21 star with huge potential, will alienate supporters – unless it is for an offer they cannot refuse.
Chelsea dropped interest in Kalidou Koulibaly as Napoli asked for £60m.