Chelsea are reportedly edging closer to the first major signing of the Antonio Conte era after claims that Juventus and Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci has accepted the offer of a contract at Stamford Bridge, while the club also remain keen on fellow Azzurri Antonio Candreva.
All that remains, therefore, is for a fee to be formally agreed with Juventus. As such, it is suggested that the former Premier League champions will now increase their previous unsuccessful offer for the 29-year-old centre-back to £32m.
It is said that such a proposal is broken down into a payment of £25m up front with a further £7m to be paid to Juventus in various add-ons, if and when certain criteria and achievements are met.
With John Terry in decline, Kurt Zouma coming off the back of a bad injury, and both Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic enduring poor seasons in 2015/16, the arrival of a world class centre-back appears to be the most pressing recruitment issue for Chelsea this summer.