Chelsea will reportedly be forced to give up their pursuit of Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci, and instead will focus on Virgil van Dijk.

Given the close relationship that he would have built up with Bonucci during their time together at Juventus and with Italy, it’s no surprise that speculation continuously linked Conte with a reunion.

Combine that with the fact that the Italian international and defensive stalwart remains one of the best in his position in Europe, he would have been the ideal addition to further solidify the Chelsea backline.

However, according to the Evening Standard, Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri has ruled out the chance of seeing the 30-year-old leave Turin this summer, and hinted at the likelihood that he will take the captain’s armband from Gianluigi Buffon when the legendary goalkeeper calls time on his playing career.

As for Chelsea, that presents them with a problem as to who they should sign instead to bolster their backline, with the report going on to suggest that Southampton ace Van Dijk will now be the subject of their focus, despite the fact that the Saints are valuing him at £70m.

Following the controversy with Liverpool and the complaint lodged against them for tapping up the Dutch international, Jurgen Klopp is no longer considered competition for Van Dijk’s signature. In turn, that should open up a window of opportunity for Conte and Chelsea, but it remains to be seen whether or not they have the summer budget to include such a signing.

The Evening Standard add that Alex Sandro and Romelu Lukaku are also on the transfer shortlist for the Premier League champions, which could be a combined £161m. Adding another £70m on top of that for Van Dijk coupled with Tiemoue Bakayoko who is expected to sign this week, and it’s starting to stack up.

Chelsea are closing in on Alex Sandro for a club record transfer fee of £61million and are preparing to recoup around £20m by selling Nathan Ake to Bournemouth.

Ake impressed on loan at Bournemouth at the start of last season and was recalled on loan in January as cover for Marcos Alonso and Gary Cahill on the left side of Antonio Conte’s defence.

The versatile Dutch international defender performed brilliantly when he deputised for Cahill in the FA Cup semi-final but found his chances were limited at Chelsea during the latter part of the season.

At 22, he is determined to find regular football and talks have opened over a move back to Bournemouth.

Chelsea are reluctant to sell a player they believe will mature into a fine Premier League defender and will demand a buy-back option in the details of any deal.a

But Van Dijk’s proposed move to Liverpool stalled after allegations of an illegal approach by the Merseysiders and made the Saints move reluctant than ever to sell.

Liverpool and Chelsea are expected to return with further attempts to prise Van Dijk away now Southampton have finally resolved their managerial change with Mauricio Pellegrino replacing Claude Puel.

However Bournemouth have stolen ahead in the race for Ake.

Sandro, meanwhile, has told Juventus he wants to leave for Chelsea.

Juve chief executive Beppe Marotta rejected Chelsea’s initial bid of £55.2m although he told the Brazilian left-back he would not stand in his way if the price was right.

The Italian champions will make a healthy profit on the 26-year-old who cost £23m when he signed from Porto two years ago.

Sandro started out in Brazil with Atletico Paranaense before a year at Santos and an £8m move to Porto in 2011.

Chelsea are prepared to increase their offer and show backing for manager Conte who has become concerned at the lack of activity at the start of what he hoped would be a big summer of recruitment at Stamford Bridge.

The fee will smash the £50m Chelsea paid for striker Fernando Torres in 2011 and will eclipse the £47.5m British record fee for a defender paid by Manchester City to Everton for John Stones last year.

Sandro is a strong and attack-minded left-back who will compete for a place with Marcos Alonso.

Top ten most expensive transfers of all time:

1. Paul Pogba £89m – Juventus to Manchester United – 2016
2. Gareth Bale £86m – Tottenham to Real Madrid – 2013
3. Cristiano Ronaldo £80m – Manchester United to Real Madrid – 2009
4. Gonzalo Higuain £76m – Napoli to Juventus – 2016
5. Luis Suarez £75m – Liverpool to Barcelona – 2014
6. James Rodriguez £63m – Monaco to Real Madrid – 2014
7. Alex Sandro £61m – Juventus to Chelsea – 2017
8. Oscar £60m – Chelsea to Shanghai SIPG – 2017
9. Angel Di Maria £59.7m – Real Madrid to Manchester United – 2014
10. Kaka £56m – AC Milan to Real Madrid – 2009

Chelsea have won the 2016-17 Premier League title courtesy of a hard-fought 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on Friday.

Monday night’s win over Middlesbrough left Antonio Conte’s side just one win away from the sixth top-flight crown in their history, and it took until the 82nd minute for them to get the all-important goal as Michy Batshuayi became Chelsea’s unlikely hero.

Any travelling Chelsea fans expecting a procession towards the title were given a reality check inside the opening 30 seconds when Thibaut Courtois was forced into an early save, tipping Salomon Rondon’s header over the crossbar.

The visitors did soon take control of possession, but they struggled to break down a stubborn West Brom defence, with Pedro squandering his side’s best sights of goal in the opening 20 minutes.

Baggies boss Tony Pulis was fulfilling his promise to make things difficult for the title chasers, with West Brom themselves looking to take another step closer to both a top-half finish and a club-record points tally in the Premier League.

Chelsea’s only shot on target of the first half arrived after 25 minutes, and even that never truly troubled Ben Foster in the West Brom goal as he comfortably scooped up Cesar Azpilicueta’s tame effort.

Cesc Fabregas – who kept his place in the side ahead of fit-again N’Golo Kante following his man-of-the-match performance against Middlesbrough on Monday night – came as close as anyone to breaking the deadlock in the first half when he drilled a low strike narrowly wide of the far post shortly after the half-hour mark.