According to the Sun, Italian side AS Roma have rejected a £26 million bid from Chelsea for Greek defender Kostas Manolas. The newspaper reports that Roma are holding out for £35 million for the player.

The Sun is far from the best source in the media, but Chelsea have been linked with Manolas before, in the last summer transfer window. At the time, Roma still had Rudi Garcia as manager and were hopeful that they could mount a good campaign to fight for a Serie A title, ultimately falling apart in the middle of the season.

With John Terry on the brink of leaving the club and Kurt Zouma returning from an injury that might impact his athleticism, the 24-year-old wouldn't be a bad transfer target for the club. Manolas has played in 28 Serie A and 8 Champions League matches this season, missing only one game since August of last year.

With news that Chelsea might use their loanees next season in the first-team and defender Andreas Christensen enjoying a great time in Bundesliga, a Manolas transfer could be even more of an afterthought. Nevertheless, the club should still look to reinforce themselves in areas of need and our defense clearly need some improvement from what they showed this season.