Chelsea have finally made progress on talks with Roma over the signing of Antonio Rudiger, with the two clubs having agreed a £34.2million deal.
That’s according to the Daily Mail, , who suggest the deal should placate Antonio Conte’s frustration at the Blues’ relative lack of activity in the transfer window.
The newspaper report the Germany international is desperate to leave Serie A after suffering racist abuse, particularly in the derby against Lazio. That came from both the fans and from Lazio defender Senad Lulic, with the club later apologising for his comments.
Conte will be a major pull as he knows the defender’s attributes well from his time in Italy with both Juventus and the national team.
Rudiger is a long-term target of the Premier League champions, but a switch was impossible last summer after he suffered a serious knee injury in the run-up to Euro 2016.
Chelsea will now be able to turn their attentions to negotiating a deal with Juventus for full-back Alex Sandro.
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