Chelsea ready to splash out €40m on Greece and AS Roma’s stand out defender

Chelsea are reportedly ready to splash out €40m in a bid to land Greece international Kostas Manolas this summer, according to Le 10 Sport.

The defending Premier League champions, who were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League last week by Ligue 1 champions Pari Saint-Germain, are interested in signing AS Roma’s highly-rated centre-half.

The 24-year-old, who has 22 international caps for his country, has scored one goal and provided two assists in 36 appearances in all competitions for the Serie A outfit so far this season.

Manolas, who joined the Italian side from Olympiakos back in August 2014 for a reported fee of €15m, is being targeted by the Blues ahead of an imperative summer break for the Premier League club as they seek to appoint Italy coach Antonio Conte as their new manager.

Chelsea are expected to allow veteran defender John Terry to leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the current 2015-16 campaign having failed to offer the former England captain a new deal.