The Blues were in the running to land the Italy international last summer but he opted to join Inter Milan from Lazio instead.
He has since played 27 times in Serie A for the San Siro club, scoring four goals, and he is now the subject of yet more transfer speculation already.
According to the Corriere dello Sport, Chelsea are ready to spend big to land the 30-year-old when the window opens at the end of the season.
Inter are expected to strengthen their squad considerably this summer with their Suning Group owners happy to make funds available for transfers.