Chelsea Transfer News: Fresh Neymar Rumours, Latest Blues Talk

Chelsea have "reached an agreement with Barcelona" to sign Neymar, but Blues manager Antonio Conte has told club owner Roman Abramovich he would prefer to bring in his own targets.

That's according to Tuttosport (h/t Metro's Chris Davie), with the Italian outlet reporting that Abramovich and Barcelona had settled on a €180 million (£155.5 million) deal to bring the Brazilian to Stamford Bridge but that Conte turned down the offer during a dinner meeting following Chelsea's 2-1 win over Stoke City on Saturday.

The story made Tuttosport's cover on Friday:

Neymar is one of the top players in world football and is enjoying an excellent campaign with the Catalan giants, having scored 14 goals and assisted 23 more in 35 appearances.

Despite only turning 25 in February, the Brazilian has already racked up a goal record many strikers would like to boast of come the end of their careers:

He added another to his Brazil tally on Thursday, when he netted a delightful chip to help the Selecao record a 4-1 win over Uruguay in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

Goal's Sam Lee was among many to enjoy the effort:

As Squawka Football demonstrated, Neymar has shown why he enjoys such a talismanic status with Brazil's national team in recent matches:

It's almost inconceivable any manager would pass up the opportunity to recruit him—he could take Chelsea beyond their already-considerable level—but Conte's track record, which includes three consecutive Serie A titles with Juventus and what will almost certainly be a Premier League title in his first season with the west Londoners, has seemingly earned him the right to choose his own transfer targets.

If Conte believes pursuing other players would be more beneficial—or that the cost of the Brazilian's arrival would prevent the club from making more pressing additions—then the Italian could be justified in turning him down.

Meanwhile, Chelsea could face stiff competition from Liverpool for Southampton's Virgil van Dijk this summer, per the Evening Standard's Tom Collomosse, with both clubs taking a keen interest in the defender.

The Dutchman has missed Southampton's past five Premier League matches through injury but enjoyed an outstanding first half of the campaign, per Squawka:

The 25-year-old is among the top centre-backs in the Premier League and would be a fine addition to the Blues squad ahead of next season, when they are set to be balancing domestic duties with UEFA Champions League football once again.

Liverpool might be doing the same, and St. Mary's Stadium has been their shopping destination of choice in recent years, with the Reds having raided the south-coast club on multiple occasions to recruit Adam Lallana, Sadio Mane, Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne and Rickie Lambert.

It's set to be an intriguing battle for Van Dijk, who Collomosse reported could cost around £50 million to acquire.