Chelsea are reportedly preparing a £10m bid for Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi.

The 29-year-old Italy international's future has been the subject of speculation this summer, after a disappointing season last term tha included fall-outs with former Giallorossi coach Zdenek Zeman and some sections of the club's supporters.

The Blues' boss, Jose Mourinho, is understood to be an ardent admirer of De Rossi and, according to the Mirror, the Portuguese tactician is now determined to take advantage of the situation at Roma and snap up the tough-tackling Italian.

Daniele De Rossi
Reuters

Chelsea are in the market for a holding midfielder, with John Obi Mikel expected to leave Stamford Bridge this summer. The report suggests the Blues failed with an opening offer of £8.5m for the midfielder but can still land their man on a cut-price deal, especially after Roma president James Pallotta recently admitted he would listen to offers for every player this summer.

"De Rossi? We'll see. Everybody is on the market, just as they are for the Boston Celtics," the American stressed.

The Premier League side have also been linked with a massive £42m bid for 24-year-old Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic.

De Rossi, who came through the ranks at the Stadio Olimpico, made his senior debut in 2001 and has made over 400 appearances in all competitions so far. He also has 90 senior Italy caps to his name.

The report also claims Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini is due in London next week, to negotiate a loan deal for Chelsea's young Brazilian full-back Wallace.

Meanwhile, Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has stated Mourinho would rather lose a match by trying to win than settle for a draw. The Czech international, who was signed by Mourinho in 2004 from Rennes, feels the Portuguese manager's will to win is so much that he never asks his team to settle for a point even in the toughest situations.

"He's a manager who'd rather lose than draw a game. Some would say: 'OK, if you can't win it, just don't lose it.' But with him that's not the case. He's all about winning, and winning the right way, winning 'right' doesn't necessarily mean in a 'great' way, as in a nice way to watch. Sometimes you have to win a game 'ugly'," Cech said.

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