Chelsea receive a boost in the race for talented young Bundesliga starlet

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Chelsea receive a boost to sign Ibrahima Konate

According to Christian Falk of BILD (h/t chelseafc.com), Chelsea have received a boost in their pursuit of Ibrahima Konate. The Blues are said to be ahead of others because of Thomas Tuchel’s assistant Zsolt Low, who has a prior association with the Leipzig defender.

It’s not that Chelsea overly require a new central defender. The club already boast of a strong contingent from which Thomas Tuchel has used the likes of Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta. We sent Fikayo Tomori on loan as well as having Kurt Zouma on the side.

While Silva has had a great impact since arriving last summer, he will be 37 years old by the time the next season rolls on. Even Cesar Azpilicueta will need replacing at some point due to his age. So adding another elite centre-back would serve the club well.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 31: (L – R) Timo Werner, Thiago Silva, Cesar Azpilicueta and Antonio Rudiger of Chelsea prepare for a corner kick during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Burnley at Stamford Bridge on January 31, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

The 21-year-old Konate has been with Leipzig since 2017, having joined from boyhood club FC Sochaux. During his time at the Saxony-based outfit, Konate has grown into a promising young centre-back with loads of potential.

It is now believed that Zsolt Low, who is Tuchel’s assistant, could help Chelsea in their bid to convince Konate to move to the Bridge. Low worked with the youngster when he was the assistant manager under Ralf Rangnick and Ralph Hasenhuttl at Leipzig. Falk spoke about the connection between Konate and Low.

SINSHEIM, GERMANY – DECEMBER 16: Ibrahima Konate of RB Leipzig in action during the Bundesliga match between TSG Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig at PreZero-Arena on December 16, 2020 in Sinsheim, Germany. (Photo by Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images)

‘The focus is very much on Konate in Leipzig at the moment. I’ve heard that Chelsea would like to get him. They would like to have him, and Tuchel is learning from Zsolt Low because he knows Konate from their time at Leipzig.’

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Falk believes that this connection could help Chelsea get a boost in their pursuit and it was good for Tuchel. It remains to be seen how the Blues take advantage of this situation to prise away one of the best, emerging centre-backs in Europe.