Daniele Rugani's Agent Claims Chelsea Made 'Unthinkable' Bid for Italian Defender This Summer

Juventus fought off "all kinds of offers" to keep Daniele Rugani at the club this summer, according to the Italian defender's agent.

Davide Torchia claims that Chelsea's failure to sign Rugani was not for a lack of trying, as they submitted a huge bid which was rejected by the Serie A champions.

Rumours of Rugani joining Chelsea have been ongoing throughout the summer, ever since it became apparent that Maurizio Sarri would be the new man in charge at Stamford Bridge. Sarri handed Rugani his first senior appearance when the two men were together at Empoli between 2012 and 2015.

A move to Chelsea was on the cards for Rugani until Juventus sold another young centre back, Mattia Caldara. He joined AC Milan as part of the deal which brought Leonardo Bonucci back to Turin.

With Caldara gone, Juventus refused to sell Rugani despite Torchia's claims that Chelsea made an enticing offer.

"Juventus have no desire to sell him, not even for a high price which, among other things, no-one in Italy could afford," Torchia said, as quoted by FourFourTwo.

"However, the player has never asked to leave. Only when a very important offer arrives is it normal to listen, but Juventus have rejected all kinds of offers to keep him in Turin.

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"Chelsea made a really big bid, which was close to being unthinkable for me, but Juventus didn't relent."

Torchia believes that Rugani will benefit from staying at Juventus, as he will get more first team opportunities this season: "[Sami] Khedira played only 10 more games than Daniele last season. I think Rugani can play even more this season."

Rugani scored twice in 22 Serie A appearances last season.