Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has turned his attentions to signing Tottenham left back Danny Rose and is ready to make a £40m move, reports The Sun.
The Premier League champions have accepted defeat in their pursuit of Juventus defender Alex Sandro despite the fact they were willing to make him the most expensive defender of all-time.
Conte called for more signings after Chelsea’s Community Shield defeat to Arsenal last weekend and they are now ready to rival Manchester United for Rose’s signature.
Rose has been sidelined with a knee injury since January and is expected to miss the start of the season as he continues his rehabilitation, but that hasn’t stopped United from expressing an interest in the England international.
After missing out on Ivan Perisic and Gareth Bale, Jose Mourinho is considering a move for Rose that would help bolster their options on the left hand side.
However, having already sold Kyle Walker to Manchester City this summer, Tottenham would be strongly opposed to selling their other starting full-back to another Premier League rival and that only complicates matters further for Chelsea and United.
Of left backs that made at least 15 appearances in the Premier League last season, Rose gained the highest WhoScored rating (7.42).
Allowing for the history between the two clubs, would be very surprised if Spurs allowed Spurs to join Chelsea. If they did, the transfer fee would certainly be no less than between £60-65m. Are Chelsea prepared to cough-up that amount, because Spurs are in no rush to sell, and are happy to keep Rose for this season.