Chelsea tipped to win race for £34m Euro 2024 breakout star amid Spurs interest

The new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca may have only been in the job for a few weeks but he appears to be making strong headway in the transfer market, with the latest reports linking him to Bologna star Riccardo Calafiori.

According to Tuttosport, the Blues are said to be ‘crazy’ about the centre-back with Maresca hopeful of bringing the star to Stamford Bridge in the coming weeks. However, the Blues will not only face European competition for Calafiori’s services, with Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle are also eyeing up a move for the defender with Spurs reported to have ‘held talks’.

The 22-year-old joined Serie A’s Bologna from FC Basel last summer and his exceptional displays for the club - which saw him pick up seven goal contributions in 37 games - have seen him enjoy international recognition as well as attracting significant interest from clubs both at home and abroad.

Calafiori - who made his Italy debut earlier this month - has reportedly seen interest from Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen, La Liga giants Atletico Madrid and the Premier League trio of Chelsea, Spurs and the Magpies.

Bologna have publicly declared he is not up for sale, but Tuttosport add in their reports that the club would could agree to his departure if they receive an offer of at least €40 million (£33.8m).

The Blues - who parted ways with centre-back Thiago Silva this summer - are said to be ‘first and foremost’ in the race for the former Basel man’s signature and the west London club are said to have had a scout watching him play the full 90 minutes in Italy’s 2-1 win over Albania in Dortmund two days ago. However, they may still find it difficult to lure him away from Serie A because of the player’s apparent desire to join Juventus and reunite with ex-Bologna head coach Thiago Motta.

Tuttosport’s report adds that the Turin giants will have contact with Bologna and Calafiori’s agent in the coming weeks with initial speculations indicating they may find the €40m valuation too steep at present. Juventus’ technical director Cristiano Giuntoli felt a deal could have been concluded for closer to €25m (£21m).

The report continues by stating that Guintoli will need time to get this deal over the line, allowing for Chelsea and other interested parties to get ahead of the Old Lady, so long as they can convince Calafiori to come to their shores.