Serie A defender's agent confirms Chelsea interest

The agent of Elseid Hysaj has confirmed that Chelsea were interested in signing the Napoli defender when Maurizio Sarri was the head coach of the club.

Sarri took the decision to sign Jorginho from Napoli shortly after he was appointed as the Blues manager last year but he was unable to lure Hysaj in the same transfer window.

The Italian manager has since moved on to Juventus and the Blues are currently under the guidance of Frank Lampard, who has earned plaudits for the club's performances during the first half of the season.

Speaking to Radio Punto Nuovo, agent Mario Giuffredi has revealed that the Blues were interested in Hysaj during the summer of 2018 but Napoli turned down their bid worth £43m.

He added that the Naples outfit now face the prospect of losing the full-back for nothing, given Albanian has no plans of extending his deal beyond the end of June 2020.

"Napoli will lose the player on a free transfer, but it'll always work out for us. A year-and-a-half ago, Napoli could've taken €50m from Chelsea. If Hysaj stays at Napoli, the Neapolitan club risks losing the player for nothing," he said.

The 25-year-old is capable of playing in both the left and right-back positions but he is more of a natural in the latter of those roles. Chelsea have that spot covered with Reece James regarded as a long-term candidate for the position.