Chelsea had an offer for Nicolo Barella accepted by Cagliari last month.

TMW says the Italian midfielder attracted major interest from the Blues and other European giants last month but ultimately decided to remain in Cagliari.

Barella has enjoyed a solid breakthrough season at the Serie A outfit and is likely to be the subject of big-money interest once again in the summer.

But the 21-year-old could have secured a move to Chelsea last month had he not rejected the switch.

Cagliari accepted an offer of €50m (£44m) for Barella's services before he snubbed a move to Stamford Bridge.