According to reports on Italian football website Calciomercato, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is still keen to sign Juventus left-back Alex Sandro this summer, but with the Serie A holders not keen to sell they could have to offer €70m (approximately £62.8m) to convince them to part with the 26-year-old.

Calciomercato say that Juve’s goal is to keep the Brazilian for at least another season, and they have offered the player a contract extension until 2022, which he is yet to accept.

Blues boss Conte is keen to bring in some wing-back competition and cover for Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses before the start of the campaign, and the Italian could step up his efforts after losing out to Manchester City for Danilo.

However, a deal to bring Alex Sandro to England is looking more and more complicated and the Premier League champions should perhaps turn their attentions to Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand – a former Blue.

Here are three reasons Chelsea should move for Bertrand as their Sandro hopes fade…

Statistics

While Bertrand missed the opening two Premier League matches of last season, the left-back soon took his spot back in the Southampton side and he made 34 appearances in all competitions throughout the campaign, scoring three goals and providing a further five assists.

It is form that is certainly not too dissimilar to Alex Sandro’s record, after he netted three times and set up seven goals for his Juve teammates, in a more elite team of course.

When you take that into consideration, Antonio Conte should certainly take a closer look at the England international instead.

Premier League experience

While Alex Sandro has been an impressive performer for Juventus in Serie A and in the Champions League, he has never played in England and that is an advantage that Bertrand has over the Brazilian.

While he struggled to break into the Chelsea team during his first spell at Stamford Bridge, the England international has established himself as one of the best left-backs in the Premier League during his time with Southampton and he would be a strong performer at both ends of the pitch for the Blues.

In addition, the 27-year-old made his European debut in the Champions League final in 2012 when the west London outfit lifted the trophy by beating Bayern Munich, and featured in the competition the following season.

Price tag

While Calciomercato say that Chelsea could have to pay £62.8m to sign Alex Sandro this summer, they would likely have to pay a lower amount to bring Bertrand back to Stamford Bridge.

Even though Southampton will want to keep hold of the 27-year-old, The Sun reported earlier in July that Man City were lining up a move for the £30m-rated England international, and if Antonio Conte could get him for around that amount it would certainly have to be seen as a better deal than one for the Juve man.

Do you agree, Blues fans? Let us know below.