Chelsea to battle Manchester United for Benoit Badiashile
According to French publication Le10 Sport (h/t Daily Star), Chelsea are keen to overtake Manchester United for the signing of Monaco youngster Benoit Badiashile.
The highly-rated France youth star has been dubbed the new Raphael Varane. His performances have garnered the attention of a number of clubs including Real Madrid, and Bayer Leverkusen.
Badiashile broke into Monaco’s senior side last season. He has made 46 appearances since. During this time, he has scored one goal and registered one assist. According to the report, he is valued by the French giants at around £27m.
The defence has been a constant source of worry for Chelsea boss Frank Lampard. A number of excellent performances have been nullified by our inability to keep clean sheets at the back.
The likes of Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, and Kurt Zouma are all formidable defenders on paper. They have, however, failed to impress on the field, leaving Lampard with a number of decisions to make.
At 6ft 4in giant, Badiashile is an athletic player who is pacy as well as being aerially dominant. Despite being raw, he has shown enough to suggest a career at the top level.
Monaco boss Nico Kovac is ken to keep hold of his stay player. However, that could prove difficult given the interest generated in him. (h/t Daily Star)
According to the report, United are leading the race fo Badashile. The Red Devils have been tracking the 19-year-old for some time and finally look to be closing in on him.
This could prompt the Blues to look elsewhere for defensive reinforcements. One of the names touted is that of Brighton and Hove Albion skipper Lewis Dunk. (h/t Daily Star)
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Chelsea are also keen to bring in a new left-back and a goalkeeper. Ben Chilwell is the club’s preferred choice at left-back. Although the Blues have been linked to Jan Oblak, Andre Onana and Nick Pope present more realistic targets. (h/t Express)