Chelsea’s quest to land another Serie A defender looks to have been unsuccessful after Milan rejected a €40 million offer for Alessio Romagnoli. Corriere dello Sport states that the Premier League club tabled the bid on Thursday morning but after consultation with their new Chinese owners, the rossoneri rejected the offer.
 

Blues boss Antonio Conte’s search for defensive reinforcements has had him scouring the peninsula for top talent; Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly has been strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge as has Torino’s Nikola Maksimovic. Add to this his former club Juve’s polite response to advances for Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini; it seems that the Italian tactician may have to look elsewhere before next week’s deadline.  

Napoli’s attempts to land Fiorentina striker Nikola Kalinic continues. Corriere dello Sport claims that the vesuviani are prepared to offer €8 million plus striker Manolo Gabbiadini, in exchange for the 28-year-old Croatian.

La Gazzetta dello Sport meanwhile, is confident that Gabbiadini will become an Everton player before the August 31 closure of the transfer window. The pink journal states that the players agent is heading to Goodison Park to try to close the deal.


 

Tuttosport claims that Inter are now in the hunt for Everton target Axel Witsel. The 27-year-old Belgian international midfielder has been linked with a host of European clubs this summer including the Toffees.

 

Il Messaggero writes that Lazio have hit complications in their attempts to lure Monaco skipper Nabil Dirar to the capital. The biancocelesti had wanted to include striker Keita Balde in any operation but the team from the principality have stated that the players wage demands would be too high.

Tuttosport states that Montenegrin play-maker Stevan Jovetic is close to a move back to Fiorentina. The 26-year-old, who is still owned by Manchester City, spent last season on-loan at Inter but the nerazzurri are not keen to activate the buy-out clause on his current contract.

Corriere dello Sport writes that new Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli wants Italian goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu to join him in Spain. The 29-year-old is out of favour at Paris Saint-Germain and is looking for a move away from the French capital.


Steve Mitchell @barafundler