Reports have claimed that Chelsea were prepared to offer three players in a swap deal to sign Sandro Tonali this summer.
According to The Athletic, the Blues were one of the sides very keen to strike a deal with AC Milan during this transfer window.
Tonali has today been announced as a new signing for Newcastle United, with the Magpies making the £55m their first addition since securing Champions League football for next season.
The midfielder fell victim of the Serie A side needing to sell big this summer in order to afford their own incomings, and he soon became the most expensive Italian in football history.
A deal may well have been achievable for Chelsea if the right players had been included in the proposal. This is shown by recent transfer activity between the two sides.
Chelsea offered three players for Tonali
The Italian club have recently announced the permanent addition of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, much to the delight of former teammate at Stamford Bridge, Fikayo Tomori.
The defender has reached another level since making the switch, while his England teammate will be hoping a similar fate awaits him in the capital.
There have also been efforts made to bring in United States international Christian Pulisic.
The winger has had a torrid time of things in recent years in West London, with appearances mostly limited to sporadic displays off the bench.
While he is personally in favour of the move to Milan, there is a reported offer from Lyon that far exceeds what the 2022 Serie A champions have offered, and this may end up being the one accepted.
As for a midfielder now Tonali this off the market, the majority of the attention at the club is on signing Brighton’s Moises Caicedo.
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