Chelsea Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Marco Verratti and Aymeric Laporte

Marco Verratti would seemingly prefer to move to Italy or Spain if he left Paris Saint-Germain, which could close the door on a move to Chelsea.

He told Tuttosport (h/t James Benson of the Daily Star) he would welcome a move to his native Italy or an elite club in La Liga: "I would like to, I can definitely see it. But it has to be a top team, whether that be in our country or in Spain."

His comments could be a blow to Chelsea, whom the MailOnline's Rob Draper and Joe Bernstein reported would rival Juventus for Verratti's signature.

In any case, the midfielder is not looking to move this summer, as he added: "But at the moment, I am at PSG and I am happy with the role I have in my team."

The 24-year-old is rapidly becoming a top star in European football thanks to his effortlessly excellent and composed play in the centre.

Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images

Verratti typically operates as a deep-lying playmaker for PSG and marries technical ability and impeccable distribution with intelligence to pull the strings for his side and help them dominate their opponents.

The Italian has formed an effective relationship with the robust Thiago Motta and Blaise Matuidi, so at Stamford Bridge, he could likely do the same with N'Golo Kante or Nemanja Matic.

He isn't known for contributing goals, given he tends to conduct proceedings from deep, but he also showed his ability to score from distance on Saturday, albeit in controversial circumstances, per BT Sport Football:

Verratti appears set to stay in Paris for another year at least, but in the interim, if the Blues can continue to enjoy success under Antonio Conte—particularly when they return to the UEFA Champions League next season—then they could give themselves a chance of tempting him to come to England rather than Italy or Spain.

Meanwhile, citing unnamed sources, Mark Ogden of ESPN FC reported Conte is hoping to make Athletic Bilbao's Aymeric Laporte one of his top summer signings.

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The 22-year-old is one of the finest young centre-backs in Europe and could revitalise Chelsea's back line.

Here are his numbers this season, courtesy of Squawka:

Apps	32
Goals	2
Tackles	41
Headed Duels	64
Interceptions	65
Clearances	120
Blocks	17
Passing Accuracy	84%

Landing him will be extremely difficult, however. Per Ogden, he turned down Manchester City last summer and signed a new deal with Athletic that included a €65 million (£54.6 million) buyout clause, which will rise to €70 million (£58.9 million) next year.

Spanish football expert Sergi Dominguez believed the extension gave out a strong message:

It would be intriguing to see how Laporte fares at an elite European club, having been with Athletic since he was 16.

Even if the Blues are prepared to meet his release clause, there's no guarantee they'll be able to convince him to join.

If they do manage to snap him up, they'll have made a tremendous addition to their already strong defence.