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Chelsea are lining up a move for Juventus defender Daniele Rugani.

The Blues have added £26million-rated centre-back Rugani to their list of summer targets as they push ahead with their transfer plans, despite continuing doubts over who will be in charge of their team next season.

And their interest was being discussed by Juve chiefs in a Thursday meeting with the 24-year-old's representatives in Milan.

Rugani is a familiar name to the two men at the centre of Chelsea's uncertain managerial situation.

(Image: AFP/Getty)

He joined Juventus when current boss Antonio Conte was in charge of the Italian giants.

Conte subsequently handed him his first Azzurri call-up when he was national team boss.

But it was while he was on loan at Empoli – under Maurizio Sarri - that Rugani really started to make a name for himself.

Sarri, who later tried to take Rugani to Napoli, is Chelsea's top choice to replace Conte as manager.

Napoli, who the 59-year-old is still contracted to for another two years despite already being replaced by Carlo Ancelotti, are willing to drop his compensation price-tag to £4.5m to encourage the Blues to push through a deal.

But the Londoners are yet to resolve Conte's situation.

Owner Roman Abramovich is reluctant to sack him, as that will involve a £9m pay-off for the last year of his contract.

Conte has no intention of making life easy for the Russian billionaire by quitting as doing so would mean forfeiting his compensation.