Chelsea’s impressive summer recruitment drive looks set to continue with reports claiming they are now close to reaching an agreement for the transfer of Ben Chilwell.
The west London club have already secured the signings of Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, while they are also closing in on a deal to land Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen following ‘productive’ talks this week.
With Frank Lampard’s attacking department looking more than well-stocked, attentions are now turning to bolstering their defence, Chelsea having had the worst defensive record in the entire top half of the Premier League last season, seeing 56 goals hit the back of the Blues’ net.
The club have been linked with a number of centre-back’s, including 35-year-old PSG defender Thiago Silva, while according to David Ornstein of the Athletic, they are now ‘close to reaching an agreement’ with Leicester over England full-back Ben Chilwell.
Chelsea have been linked with a number of options at left-back, including Porto’s Alex Telles, Real Madrid’s Sergio Reguilon, and Ajax’s Nicolas Tagliafico, though it is Chilwell who has been Lampard’s number one target throughout.
While previous reports have claimed that Leicester would demand a fee of around £80m, the Athletic claims a deal worth ‘between £45-50 million is close to being agreed’, a fee ‘lower than might have been expected’ due to the current economic downturn.
Left-back has been a problem position for Frank Lampard, with neither Marcos Alonso or Emerson Palmieri having massively impressed under the former midfielder, with Cesar Azpilicueta having been shifted over to the left at times during the season.
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