After dropping out of the top four in the Premier League last season, Chelsea will be desperate for a much-improved campaign next year.
The Blues won the title the season before last, but despite lifting the FA Cup, Antonio Conte wasn’t able to replicate that level of success in a complicated season for the club.
In order to improve, reinforcements are arguably needed at Stamford Bridge to ensure that they can compete with their rivals next season, and according to the Evening Standard, they’ve been linked with a £35m move for Juventus defender Daniele Rugani.
The 23-year-old has shown plenty of promise and has been tipped to be a crucial figure for the Turin giants in the future with stalwarts Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli not getting any younger.
However, it would appear as though Chelsea will try to prise him away and bolster their backline, which arguably shouldn’t be their priority given that they conceded just 38 goals in 38 league games last season, giving them the fourth-best defensive record in the top flight.
Nevertheless, they appear to be closing in on Rugani, although his agent, Davide Torchia, has suggested that much will depend on whether or not former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri arrives to replace Antonio Conte.
“It is obvious to say that the Sarri question must first be resolved, then proceed with the negotiations and make them more or less concrete,” he is quoted as saying by The Express.
As noted in the report, the Italian tactician has been heavily linked with the Chelsea post, and so it remains to be seen if he arrives and begins his own recruitment drive as he will bring a very different style to the Blues compared to Conte.
Sarri was lauded for the expansive and high-intensity game that Napoli and Empoli played under him, while Conte has undoubtedly adopted a more pragmatic and organised approach throughout his managerial career.
In turn, their transfer targets could differ significantly this summer and so that has to be resolved first.