Chelsea have reportedly had a £63 million bid rejected by Juventus, creating a massive hurdle in their pursuit of Alex Sandro.
According to a report by The Mirror, Chelsea’s £63 million bid to sign Alex Sandro has been turned down by Juventus, leaving the Premier League champions in a precarious position. The Blues have had quite a miserable start to their new campaign, and appear to be faced with ill luck even as far as the transfers are concerned.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is intent on boosting their defence after several blunders in their opening day defeat to Burnley. Sandro was identified as a top target but the Italian club’s director Giuseppe Marotta is understood to have rejected the offer.
Sandro joined Juventus from Porto in the summer of 2015, and the 26-year-old wasted no time in establishing himself as one of the best full-backs in Serie A. He soon went on to become a regular figure in the Juventus starting lineup, cementing his place post the departure of Patrice Evra.
The talented defender has been part of a Juventus side that has won the league title in the last two seasons, and it is quite evident that he is happy playing for the Italian champions. Although Chelsea were strongly linked with Sandro, Conte does not seem close to securing his signature.
However, that does not change the fact that Sandro could have potentially been a solid addition to address Chelsea’s defensive woes. Conte deployed a 3-4-3 formation enroute to winning the Premier League title last season – a system in which Sandro can slot in seamlessly with his experience of playing as a wing-back.
Also, the Brazilian is still just 26 years old and can easily offer football at the top level for several more years, making him a long-term prospect. Despite that, Sandro is set to become yet another Chelsea target who will not move to Stamford Bridge this summer.
Throughout the summer, it has been quite evident that Conte has stuttered in his transfer pursuits. After failure to land players like Romelu Lukaku and Danilo, in addition to letting Nemanja Matic leave for Manchester United, the latest development in the Sandro saga will not come as good news to the Italian manager.
Sandro played a key role in guiding his team to the Champions League final last season and it did seem odd that Juventus would be willing to part with one of their star defenders. As things stand, it looks like Conte will have to seek reinforcements elsewhere and not waste any more time in pursuing deals that are unlikely to take place.
