Chelsea reportedly succeeded with a €50million offer for the transfer of Nicolo Barella accepted by his club Cagliari this January.
However, the player himself somewhat surprisingly turned the potential move to Stamford Bridge down as it seems staying in his native Italy remains his priority for the time being, according to Tuttomercatoweb.
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Barella has shone as one of the most exciting young talents in Serie A in recent times, and could have been an ideal signing for Chelsea due to their current situation in midfield.
Despite a strong start, summer signing Jorginho is going through a rough patch, while Cesc Fabregas left for Monaco in January and Mateo Kovacic is only at the club on loan from Real Madrid until the end of the season.
Unfortunately, it seems Chelsea could not persuade Barella to join on this occasion, despite doing enough to persuade his club to let him go.
It will be interesting to see if the Blues try again for the young Italian once the transfer window re-opens in the summer.