Inter Milan will need to try harder to pry N'Golo Kante away from Chelsea this summer.
Chelsea rejected the Italian club's offer for the midfielder, which included Marcelo Brozovic in part-exchange, The Guardian's Jacob Steinberg reports. Chelsea have also turned down the opportunity to sign Christian Eriksen in a straight transfer or as a makeweight in a deal for Kante.
It appears that Antonio Conte would have to sell some members of his squad to fund a straight-cash offer for Kante.
The Frenchman was one of the stars of Conte's 2016-17 Premier League-winning Chelsea side after moving to Stamford Bridge from Leicester City for £32 million. He's currently undergoing preseason preparations for his sixth campaign with the Blues.
Current Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has said he wants Kante to stay at the club and sources in France have suggested the player is happy in London. But rumors of a transfer surfaced last term after he made only 28 appearances during an injury-riddled season.
There's a slight chance Chelsea will sell Kante while undergoing a summer overhaul, Steinberg understands, but Lampard would apparently prefer to lose Jorginho from his midfield.
Chelsea have brokered the arrivals of Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell, and Malang Sarr this offseason. The club is also in talks to sign goalkeeper Edouard Mendy from Rennes and plans to pursue West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice.
