Chelsea all set to land Serie A defender

Chelsea are reported to have reached an agreement to sign Fiorentina defender Marcos Alonso. The 25-year-old has been earmarked as the ideal back-up to Cesar Azpilicueta at left-back.

Alonso, who began his career at Real Madrid, has previous top-flight experience with Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland.

Spanish source MARCA had earlier reported that the Blues had held discussions with La Viola for the player with manager Antonio Conte looking to strengthen his backline.

The same source now confirms that the West London giants have negotiated a £20m sum for the Spaniard, and the deal is likely to go through before the transfer window closes on Wednesday.

Alonso will act as deputy to Azpilicueta on the left side of the defence after an out-of-favour Baba Rahman was shipped out to Schalke 04 on a season-long loan.

Chelsea are also on the search for a central defender with Lazio's Stefan di Vrij being the latest name to be linked with a potential move to Stamford Bridge.