According to reports making the rounds, Chelsea defender Davide Zappacosta is in talks with Inter Milan over a summer move.
Zappacosta only joined Chelsea on the last day of the summer transfer window but is already being strongly linked with a transfer away from Stamford Bridge along with the manager that signed him Antonio Conte.
The Italian international made 38 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions as the club finished fifth in the League but won the FA Cup.
And now, Serie A giants Inter Milan have identified the right back as a priority target this summer with Sky Sports claiming the Italian outfit has met with his agent at their headquarters in Milan.
Sky Sports also adds that Chelsea have agreed to sell Zappacosta, who is contracted to the club until 2021, for £17.5m, over £5m less than they paid for him last August.
If the 26-year-old does not agree a permanent move away, Chelsea are ready to send the Italian out on loan with an option for Inter Milan to make the move permanent at the end of the 2018-19 season.
Zappacosta spent two seasons at Torino before moving to west London and made his international debut two years ago.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are expected to replace Antonio Conte with Maurizio Sarri in the coming days, with Gianfranco Zola set to be named his number two.
Last Wednesday, Zola’s agent said: ‘Gianfranco is a Blues legend and his arrival is not dependent on that of Sarri.
‘I can only speak on behalf of my client and reaffirm that there has not yet been any meeting with the Chelsea management. ‘
For Sarri to go to Chelsea, three things need to happen: Conte has to be sacked, Napoli and the Blues have to reach an agreement and, finally, Sarri has to reach an agreement with the club.
‘It [working with Zola] is a hypothesis, but we’d have to see what the roles would be and how their duties would be split.’