Chelsea have £25m bid rejected for Valencia's Shkodran Mustafi
That is according to Spanish newspaper AS, who claim Valencia have rejected Chelsea's £25million offer for the Germany international.
Mustafi is said to have a £42m release clause in his contract at Mestalla Stadium, but Valencia are apparently willing to listen to offers of £34m.
AS report Blues manager Antonio Conte has set his sights on the 24-year-old after failing in his bid to bring Juventus' Leonardo Bonucci to Stamford Bridge.
But the Italian faces competition from Premier League rivals Arsenal, who are in the market for a new central defender with Per Mertesacker ruled out with a knee injury for several months.
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger was recently questioned on his reported pursuit of Mustafi, but refused to be drawn into the speculation.
He said: "We have not closed any deal with anybody at the moment. That’s the answer. You speak about Mustafi. Is it Mustafi or anybody else - we haven’t concluded anything at the moment."
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