Antonio Rüdiger has left Chelsea and Andreas Christensen is likely to follow him out of the exit door when the Dane’s contract expires on June 30th.
This has forced the Blues to strengthen the centre-back position, especially after failing to take Sevilla’s Jules Koundé in summer 2021.
Koundé is still on Chelsea’s agenda this summer, along with Juventus’ Matthijs de Ligt. The latter’s compatriot, Stefan de Vrij, is added to their target list. His contract at Inter Milan runs until 2023.
According to FcInterNews, the Nerazzurri made it clear to his entourage a renewal will see the 30-year-old take a pay cut, even though a deal of €5m per season was agreed in principal in 2021.
Simone Inzaghi’s side have set a €15m price tag for the former Lazio man. The website states that it is ‘no coincidence’ that Chelsea have ‘come forward in recent days’ to sign the Netherlands international.
With Rüdiger and Christensen’s exits, and also the uncertainty around César Azpilicueta’s future, the Inter centre-back can be ‘ideal’ for Thomas Tuchel’s system of playing three at the back.
Chelsea find De Vrij’s €15m price tag ‘affordable’ and won’t have a problem to pay him a salary of €5m per year.
FcInterNews add ‘talks are ongoing’, and the ‘direct line’ between the west London club and Inter may not be restricted to Romelu Lukaku [wants to return to the San Siro] alone.
