Chelsea are prepared to offer Kurt Zouma in a player plus cash deal to sign AS Roma’s defensive ace Gianluca Mancini this summer.
According to Il Romanista, Chelsea have expressed interest in the services of Gianluca Mancini. The AS Roma defender faces an uncertain future in Rome, as the club struggles from a financial crisis that might force them to cash in on a series of star players.
However, it remains unlikely that Chelsea will be keen on paying up for Mancini. Instead, they are hoping to minimise Roma’s asking price for the 25-year-old by offering Kurt Zouma in a player plus cash deal. The potential deal might appeal to Jose Mourinho, who is reportedly in the market for defensive reinforcements this summer.
Zouma is not favoured by Thomas Tuchel, who, in turn, is looking for more technically astute centre-backs. Chelsea have already been linked with multiple centre-backs this summer, including VfL Wolfsburg’s rising star Maxence Lacroix.
In Mancini, though, Tuchel could find himself a more well-established option, who has already notched up 82 competitive appearances for Roma since joining the club in 2019. The 25-year-old has become an ever-present figure of the Giallorossi backline, alongside the likes of Roger Ibanez and Leonardo Spinazzola, who was a target for Real Madrid prior to his unfortunate injury in the quarter-final against Belgium.
Standing at 1.90m, Mancini has made quite an impact at Roma with his imposing presence at the back. He might not be as technically adept as someone like Lacroix, but he can be deceiving in regards to his ability to pass the ball and, indeed, his ability to recover the ball for his team.
It bodes well for a Chelsea side that had to sanction the permanent sale of Fikayo Tomori earlier in the summer to join Serie A giants AC Milan. The Blues also need to prepare for life without Thiago Silva, who remains at Stamford Bridge for just one more reason, while the likes of Andreas Christensen and Zouma are unlikely to become the face of the club’s defensive unit going forward.
Mancini appears to be an ideal option in that regard. But he is not the only player Chelsea are considering at the moment. In fact, the newly crowned European champions have recently been linked with a move for Sevilla’s Diego Carlos, though a lot will depend on how they manage to offload their unwanted stars.
Kurt Zouma, for one, was targeted by Tottenham and Everton earlier in the summer. His departure could surely go a long way in helping the club fund a move for someone like Mancini, provided Roma are unwilling to accept Chelsea’s proposed offer,