Chelsea could offer up to €30m for Stefan de Vrij, but Lazio are not ready to sell the defender at the moment, according to Italian broadcaster Sportitalia.
The Blues have been on the lookout for a centre-back all summer, but have thus far faced frustration in their attempt to bring in a defender.
Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and AC Milan’s Alessio Romagnoli were both heavily linked with a move to Chelsea in the summer, but both Serie A outfits rejected the Blues’ big money offers for their respective players.
Another of Chelsea’s targets, Nikola Maksimovic, is seemingly on his way to join Napoli from Torino.
As a result, the Stamford Bridge outfit have now turned their attention to De Vrij, whose present contract with Lazio runs until 2018.
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Chelsea, who were ready to pay €25m for the defender, are now willing to offer Lazio up to €30m including bonuses for the Dutch international.
But Lazio are still not keen to sell De Vrij, and it has been speculated that they are only willing to listen to offers in the region of €40m for the 24-year-old.
De Vrij, who joined Lazio from Feyenoord in 2014, has thus far earned 30 caps for the Netherlands.
