Marco Verratti has reiterated his desire to leave Paris Saint-Germain this summer in another meeting with the club, even threatening not to report for pre-season training.
The Italian midfielder is being chased by both Barcelona and Chelsea, with Antonio Conte a long-time fan of a player he coached with the national team.
And according to L’Equipe, Verratti made it explicitly clear that he had no intention of staying in Paris during a meeting with PSG sporting director Antero Henrique on Saturday.
He has even said he will boycott pre-season training with the club, which begins on July 4, in an effort to force though a move.
Verratti is valued in excess of €80 million (£69.9m) by PSG, who will do everything possible to keep him at the club despite his latest threat.
Conte would love to be reunited with Verratti – who has described the Chelsea manager as ‘the best coach I have ever worked with’ previously – but he may be tempted elsewhere.
During the meeting with Henrique, he stated that his preference was to join Barcelona, who have made the 24-year-old a priority signing.
New manager Ernesto Valverde is desperate to reinforce his midfield with a quality passer, and pinpointed the Italian as the ideal signing after giving up on Manchester United’s Ander Herrera.
That will be a huge blow to Chelsea’s hopes of signing Verratti, though the club are hopeful of concluding a deal for another midfielder.
The Blues are confident of bringing Tiemoue Bakayoko to Stamford Bridge in a £50 million deal, having finally made a breakthrough in talks with Monaco.
MORE : Chelsea transfer target Marco Verratti favours £88million Barcelona move
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