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Axel Witsel begged not to commit to Chelsea with Milan still eyeing move
AC MILAN have reportedly begged Axel Witsel to hold off joining Chelsea.
Axel Witsel is wanted by Chelsea
The Serie A outfit were linked with a move for Witsel earlier in the transfer window, but failed to agree a fee with Zenit Saint Petersburg.
Last week Milan CEO Adriano Galliani suggested the club had moved on from the Belgian midfielder, saying: "No [we won't sign Witsel], that's enough now.
"The only objective left is a central defender."
That reportedly saw Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich fly to Russia to personally negotiate a deal for Witsel.
But Italian paper Corrierre dello Sport suggest that Milan have now altered their stance.
It is claimed that they have begged Witsel not to commit to Chelsea until August.
A defender remains a priority for the San Siro outfit but they hope they may still have the funds to complete a deal for Witsel once that is out of the way, according to the reports.