Chelsea have had a “whopping” €50m (£43m) offer turned down for Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni, according to reports in the Italian media.

The Gazzetta Dello Sport claim that the Nerazzurri “politely declined” the proposal from the Blues, with no follow-up bid having been made.

Bastoni has been at Inter since he moved from Atalanta in the summer of 2017 and he still has three years left on his contract which he signed back in 2023.

It seems both the player and the club are happy with the current state of affairs, so a sale this summer looks very unlikely.

Why did Chelsea make a move for Bastoni?

The Italian international is a left-footed centre-back so it appears he was targeted in the wake of Levi Colwill’s anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Based on initial estimates, the 22-year-old is expected to miss the entire season, and there have been calls for him to be replaced before the transfer window closes on September 1st

Maresca is adamant that he wants a new centre-half

Speaking in the build-up to the opening Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon, head coach Enzo Maresca made it clear in no uncertain terms that he is keen to replace Colwill:

“The club know exactly what I think. I think we need a central defender. We are looking for an internal solution but as I said, the club know exactly what I think…”

“When we build, we build with Levi in the middle. Last year we played 64 games and we played all 64 games with either Levi or Tosin [Adarabioyo in the middle].”

“Now Levi is out. The only other one that he can do that job well is Tosin. But we have Premier League, Champions League, with these kind of players . The rest, they can adapt. [Jorrel] Hato is a new one, he never played as the guy in the middle last season [with Ajax], so it’s not about being a central defender. Yes, [he is a] central defender but can he do that? It’s different. Also we have players that unfortunately, like Wes [Fofana] or Benoit [Badiashile], they have in this moment some [injury] problems.”

“The one in the middle in my way is so, so, so important. And this is the reason why I said that the club knows exactly what I think about central defenders.”

Read more about the Chelsea First Team Squad for 2025/26 here