"?Antonio Conte is looking to upgrade his Chelsea defence by bringing in AC Milan and Italy youngster Alessio Romagnoli for a staggering £49m.
According to The Sun, a January move for the centre-back is likely after the Blues had a £30m bid in the summer window rejected.
And the arrival of the Italian defender could be met with the arrival of Euro 2016 winner Pepe after the Mirror had reported Chelsea are looking at to bring in the Portuguese defender on a free transfer in the summer.
#Chelsea are prepared to meet AC Milan's £49million valuation for defender Alessio Romagnoli in January. [Calciomercato]
Midfield duo Luka Modric and Toni Kroos have both signed long term deals with the club and Pepe would like to commit his future to Zidane's side too with a two year extension to his current deal, which is not currently on offer.
Romagnoli joined Milan last summer from Roma for €25m and has featured 40 times for the Italian side since. The 21-year-old spent a season on loan at Sampdoria who could have bought the youngster on a permanent deal had Roma not of activated a clause to bring him back and terminate his loan deal.
Chelsea have been poor defensively this season, conceding nine goals this summer and only Liverpool have conceded more than them in the top eight.
The large majority of the goals conceded are defensive errors; poor marking and sloppy passes or touches have led to unneeded goals leaked by the Blues, but either Pepe or Romagnoli would improve their defence.
Pepe joined Madrid from Porto in 2007 and has made 220 appearances and scored 12 goals since arriving. The Portuguese has won the Champions League twice and got two La Liga winners medals to his name.
Meanwhile, as far as international honours go, Pepe has featured in the European Championship Team of the Tournament an incredible three times.
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