Chelsea Transfer Rumours: Blues Must Wrap Up Daniele De Rossi Deal

With the exception of the Andre Schurrle signing and the return of manager Jose Mourinho, Chelsea have been fairly quiet on the transfer market this summer.

But that's looks set to change, as Mourinho focuses his attention on Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi. And the sooner Chelsea gets this deal done, the better. 

From Martin Lipton of the Mirror:

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Jose Mourinho is closing in on Chelsea's prime midfield target Daniele de Rossi, as Roma agreed a fee on the Italy star's replacement.

The Serie A giants are ready to let De Rossi go after completing the signing of PSV Eindhoven's Kevin Strootman.

But Roma are demanding that the Londoners loan them teenage Brazilian full-back Wallace as part of the £11million transfer of De Rossi, 29.

We revealed last week that Mourinho, who tried to sign De Rossi at both Inter Milan and Real Madrid, believes the Italian will be the perfect fit for the midfield fulcrum of his new-look Blues.

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The inclusion of Wallace could end up being a deal-breaker, but don't be shocked if Roma is simply using any interest in the full-back to negotiate a higher transfer fee for De Rossi. 

De Rossi can do a little bit of everything in the midfield, combining a physical tackling ability with enough technical skill to act as a lynchpin in the midfield. At Chelsea, he'd mostly play in holding positions and would certainly bring with him a fire and leadership that would only benefit the Blues. 

He's a smart defensive tactician, intercepting plenty of balls before they reach danger areas. And his ability to play long diagonal passes or accurate through balls over the top would find Chelsea's attackers in dangerous scoring positions. 

Oh, and he would also be about the fifth player on the squad capable of finding the net from range. He may not be a goal-scorer, but he does have a big shot. 

De Rossi isn't coming off his finest season for Roma, but still earned a 6.93 match rating from WhoScored.com. He completed 84 percent of his passes, made 2.2 interceptions and had 1.6 tackles per game. He added a solid seven accurate long passes per game.

Without question, he would give Chelsea a versatile midfielder and strong leader to pair with the Blues' other veterans. It's a move that makes a lot of sense for the club, and one that should be wrapped up as quickly as possible so the squad can chase new targets on the market. 

The club still really needs to upgrade at striker, where the combination of Fernando Torres and Demba Ba has proven it isn't up to the standard set by the rest of the team. 

With Manchester City already busy this summer, Manchester United in pole position after last year's title and Arsenal and Tottenham sure to be better, Chelsea can't rest on its laurels. Wrapping up De Rossi and chasing a premier forward is the next step for a club with championship aspirations.