West Ham have turned down a loan bid from Serie A side AS Roma for star defender Angelo Ogbonna this week.
According to Alexander Sugoni of Sky Sport Italia, Roma have made a surprise early move to sign the centre-back.
Roma suffered a huge blow this week with the injury to first-choice centre-back Antonio Rudiger, who only completed his move from Stuttgart earlier this summer following a successful loan, after he succumbed to a torn ACL while training with Germany ahead of Euro 2016.
The Serie A side are expected to be without Rudiger until 2017, and have drafted a shortlist of replacements in the meantime – including Angelo Ogbonna.
It’s claimed that Roma submitted a season-long loan bid for Ogbonna this week, which West Ham declined. They have no intent in selling the defender who they value at £20m. He is also under contract until 2020.
The 28-year-old joined the Hammers for £8m from Juventus last season and enjoyed a great debut season in English football, making 28 Premier League appearances as Slaven Bilic’s men finished 7th and secured a Europa League sport for the 2016/17 season.
Ogbonna’s impressive form caught the eye of the Italian national side manager Antonio Conte, who has recalled the former Torino defender back into the national set-up for the first time since 2014 and named him in his 23-man squad for Euro 2016.
It’s also believed that Conte, who will takeover the reigns at Chelsea after the Euros, is keen on signing Ogbonna at Stamford Bridge as a long-term replacement for John Terry. Manchester United and Jose Mourinho are also interested.
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