Inter Milan defender becomes Tuchel’s ‘obsession’ with Chelsea to pursue him ‘above all’

Inter Milan defender Denzel Dumfries is the subject of strong interest from Chelsea this summer, according to reports.

Dumfries joined the Serie A side last summer from PSV Eindhoven for a fee that could rise to €15m after Inter sold Achraf Hakimi to Paris Saint-Germain.

The Netherlands international had attracted interest from a number of clubs around Europe following his impressive performances at Euro 2020.

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And now Dumfries could be on the move again this summer with reports of strong interest from Premier League sides Chelsea, Newcastle United and Manchester United in the right-back.

He was in and out of the Inter team this season, who finished second in Serie A behind arch-rivals AC Milan, with Dumfries starting just 21 of their 38 matches in the league.

And now Chelsea are keen to offer him a different challenge in the Premier League with Thomas Tuchel keen to bring in at least one full-back this summer.

The Blues originally wanted to include Dumfries as part of a deal that would see Romelu Lukaku leave Stamford Bridge permanently in the summer transfer window.

However, it now looks more likely that the Belgium international will leave Chelsea for Inter Milan this summer on a temporary basis with the clubs currently haggling over a loan fee.

And Italian media outlet Sport Mediaset insist that Chelsea are still interested in Dumfries ‘above all’ with the player now becoming an ‘obsession’ for Tuchel.

Inter Milan value him at €60m but ‘an offer of €40-45 would be heard’ by the Italian club, while they have also shown an interest in Inter Milan centre-back duo of Milan Skriniar and Stefan de Vrij.

Meanwhile, former Scotland international Craig Burley has claimed that Chelsea striker Lukaku “went on the field with fear” last season after a £97.5m transfer from Inter.

Burley told ESPN: “What we saw in the end was a player who went on the field with fear. He wasn’t doing that at Inter and I’m presuming he won’t do it if he goes back to Inter. He was a player that looked scared going on the field about making a mistake.”