Chelsea are in talks with Roma about signing £30m-rated centre-back Antonio Rudiger, reports The Daily Mirror.
Antonio Conte’s side have accepted defeat in their pursuit of Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci and re-aligned their focus on Rudiger, who they have previously been linked to in the past.
Rudiger is currently away on Confederations Cup duty with Germany in Russia and no deal would be completed until after Sunday’s final against Chile. However, Chelsea have entered initial talks with Roma to sound out a deal for the 24-year-old, who is valued at around £30m.
The Serie A giants only made Rudiger switch from Stuttgart permanent last summer and Chelsea may prove successful in their pursuit of the Germany international now Kostas Manolas’ move to Zenit has collapsed.
Rudiger can play right the way across the defence and would also add pace and power, which Conte has identified as key facets in defenders for his system. He was largely behind Federico Fazio and Kostas Manolas in the pecking order last season but still made 26 appearances in Serie A.
For more stats on Antonio Rudiger, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
He's a freak of nature, but not a great defender. Like a poor man's Chiellini.