Chelsea played a key role behind Roma defender Kostas Manolas snubbing a move to Zenit Saint Petersburg last month, it has been claimed.
Manolas looked set to join the Russian giants after Roma agreed a fee with Zenit but the defender never turned up for a scheduled medical and the transfer fell apart.
It emerged that the player’s representatives failed to reach an agreement over the details of his contract but according to Italian outlet Calciomercato.it, Premier League champions Chelsea played a part in Manolas snubbing Zenit.
It has been claimed that the Greek defender got whiff of the fact that the Blues were interested in him and that resulted in him calling off his move to Russia last month.
However, Chelsea quickly showed an interest in his Roma team-mate Rudiger and have already agreed a fee with the Giallorossi as the German is set to have a medical with the Blues soon.
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After it became clear that Chelsea are not keen to sign Manolas, the defender’s representatives contacted Zenit again to revive the deal but the Russians were not interested anymore.
It remains to be seen whether any other club show an interest in Manolas or he continues at Roma next season.
