Inter Milan respond to Chelsea’s last-minute enquiry to sign Milan Skriniar

According to rumors, Chelsea has made a last-minute inquiry about Inter Milan center back Milan Skriniar's availability but faces stiff competition from Paris Saint-Germain.

After losing Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger, two cornerstones of his defense, on free transfers, Thomas Tuchel made the acquisition of two new center-backs this summer his first goal.

Jules Kounde of Sevilla had long been a target for the west London club, but they now seem to have lost interest in the player in favor of Matthijs de Ligt of Juventus.

Tuchel is looking for a second center back who can play on the left side of a back three, and Nathan Ake, a former academy player, has been mentioned.

The two clubs have been in negotiations over Romelu Lukaku’s loan return to San Siro – which could be rubberstamped this week for a loan fee of just £7million.

Early on in the talks, Chelsea had enquired about the possibility of including players such as Alessandro Bastoni and Lautaro Martinez in a deal for Lukaku, which Inter flat-out refused, and the Blues had not initially shown any real interest in Skriniar.

But now Gazzetta say Chelsea are looking into the possibility of rivalling PSG for the signing of Skriniar, with Inter welcoming their interest if the Blues meet their asking price.

So far, the French champions are still some way short of Inter’s asking price and Chelsea were made aware that Skriniar is free to leave if a bid of €70million (£60m) arrives.

The Premier League club’s hierarchy left the meeting with a feeling that a deal might be possible, even though the 27-year-old has already agreed personal terms on a lucrative contract with PSG.