CHELSEA were set to sign Juventus midfielder Stefano Sturaro before Jose Mourinho was sacked, his agent has claimed.
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| Chelsea could have signed Sturaro (left) if they had kept Mourinho |
Former Blues manager Mourinho endured a frustrating summer during which he failed to sign a number of key targets.
The 52-year-old was planning to make moves in the January transfer window before he was axed last month after a disappointing start to the season in which Chelsea lost nine of their opening 16 Premier League games.
And Sturaro's agent Carlo Volpi claims Chelsea negotiations over signing his client collapsed when Mourinho went.
“The rumours coming from England are all true, there are a lot of teams interested in Stefano, especially thanks to the matches Juventus played against Manchester City in the Champions League,” Volpi told Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb.
“But Juve have turned down all of them, rejecting every approach for the player.
“£12.7million? The figures could be more or less true, let’s not forget that in England a second-tier team has economic resources that are extremely higher than those in Italy, for example.
“In Serie A we’ve had interest from six clubs, all intending to ask for him on loan. But in England there was also Chelsea, but everything fell apart after Mourinho was sacked.
“The Special One followed Stefano’s development with great interest. But Juventus took him off the market.
"Juve were the first to be intrigued by the growth of the player, they want to see how far he can go.
“Sturaro is totally focused on his work. He wants to show he’s an important player for Juventus and he’s happy in Turin.”
Juventus are keen to retain midfielder Sturaro, who boasts 16 appearances for the club this season.
It emerged today that Southampton have had a £12.7m bid for the player rejected.
Saints are keen to secure a replacement defensive midfielder should Victor Wanyama push through a £20m transfer to Arsenal.
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