Chelsea have been dealt a blow in their interest in Daniele Rugani after his agent rubbished reports linking his player away from Turin, according to Goal.
As per the Metro, there were reports in England that the Premier League side were interested in bolstering their backline with the addition of the centre-half.
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According to SportItalia, as translated by Football Italia, Rugani was a potential transfer target for Maurizio Sarri during his time as Napoli manager and if takes over at the helm in Stamford Bridge, he was said to be keen in bringing in the young defender.
But his agent David Torchia has quashed those rumours after he was spotted with Juventus’ director of sport Fabio Paratici.
According to SportItalia, as re-reported by Goal, Torchia said: ‘I know that nobody will believe me, but I met with Paratici because it was already scheduled,
‘I didn’t know there was going to be this storm the day before. ‘We talked about how to improve the player and what to do going forward, but we didn’t set up any negotiations.’
The Italian defender has come through the ranks at Juventus and has won three Scudettos under the guidance of manager Max Allegri.
His stock as one of the game’s best young defenders is growing and last term he played more than 1000 minutes in the league and made 26 appearances, including 25 as a starter.
Chelsea have yet to make a big-name signing yet this summer and according to the report from the Metro, they have only signed youth signings Thierno Ballo and Ian Maatsen.