It’s been a while since we wrote about Stefan De Vrij, and that’s most because there’s been very little to write about.
The Dutch defender was widely expected to leave Lazio this summer, with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool linked with the centre-back, but he never did, even with his contract running out next summer.
Talk of a renewal was rife, but no official announcement was ever made, and Il Messaggero on Monday explain why.
According to the Italian newspaper, De Vrij has already put pen to paper to a new deal that would see him stay in Rome until June 2019 and includes a release clause of €28m for this year, which is reduced to €25m next year.
However, the centre-back’s decision to do so went against what his representatives and entourage wanted, which is for him to leave on a free in the summer, and SEG, his agency, are the ones holding everything up by asking for ‘monster commissions’.
Furthermore, had De Vrij decided not to extend his stay at Lazio, he’d probably already be on his way to Chelsea, as Il Messaggero explain that, during talks with other clubs, Antonio Conte’s side were ahead of the ‘Manchester clubs’.
That means the Blues still hold a strong interest in De Vrij, a defender the Italian manager has liked ever since he first arrived at Stamford Bridge, and at €28m in the summer, there’s every chance they could return for him as he’ll represent a bargain in the current market.
