Arsenal and Chelsea failed to sign Rugani

Arsenal and Chelsea have been named among the clubs to have tried and failed to sign Daniele Rugani from Juventus this summer, before the defender went on a season-long loan to Rennes.

Rugani came through the youth ranks at Empoli and joined Juventus’ Under-19 side in 2012. He had several loan spells back to his old club as a first-team player, the last of which ended in the summer of 2015. He has so far made a total of 101 appearances for the Old Lady in all competitions, but he hasn’t been able to nail down a regular starting spot.

As relayed by the Mirror, Davide Torchia, who represents Rugani, has revealed that a number of clubs, the two London ones included, were interested in his 26-year-old client and made concrete bids for his services this summer. However, none of those bids were accepted by the Serie A champions. 

Arsenal added to their defensive ranks by signing Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille OSC, while Chelsea brought in former Paris Saint-Germain captain Thiago Silva on a free transfer.