Chelsea are reportedly confident of signing Ben Chilwell but Leicester will demand the same £80million fee Manchester United paid for Harry Maguire.
After months and months of fighting their transfer ban, Frank Lampard managed to get an early Christmas Present this month after it was revealed that the ban had been lifted, and Chelsea were able to sign players again in the January window, but despite all the transfer reports, a move did not materialise.
Emerson Palmieri made a strong start to the campaign, but has been dealt with several injury problems and Chelsea have had to turn to Marcos Alonso, who you feel is not a particular favourite of Lampard’s.
Cesar Azpilicueta has played in that position, despite being a right-back, while Reece James has also done a job on the left, so the Blues will need to delve into their transfer kitty to try and acquire the services of a new left-back, especially after they failed to get any deals done in January. And as we said, Chilwell has enhanced his reputation this season with a series of impressive displays for title-chasing Leicester and is one of the best full-backs in the top flight, meaning that he is top of the Chelsea shopping list in the summer.
According to Goal, Chelsea lead the race to sign the 23-year-old full-back and are confident they can persuade him, and Leicester to do a transfer deal in the summer, although it is believed that Leicester will want close to £80 million for Chilwell.
It is understood Leicester have a strict policy of allowing only one key player to leave the club each year, a rule that helps keep stability in the squad, and with playmaker James Maddison also in demand, Chelsea could be forced to pay the inflated price for Chilwell.
Former Blues star Ashley Cole urged Chelsea to sign Chilwell, after discovering the Leicester left-back is a Blues fan, he told the SUN: “I’d love to see him here. I think he’s a quality player, I’ve heard he’s a Chelsea fan so yes I’d like to see him here.
“But that depends if he wants to leave or if Leicester will sell him That’s something the clubs need to talk about.” Ashley added: “There’s always going to be a question mark going to a bigger club, but he’s doing really, really well in terms of how he is playing with Leicester. “He’s obviously enjoying the way Brendan plays, and the system, he’s got that license to attack. “In terms of quality, for sure he has the quality to be here.”
Look, we all know that Chelsea will come all guns blazing in the summer window as they need to improve, and although Brendan Rodgers does not want to lose his best players in the winter window, the right offer will get a transfer deal done. Football is all about the money these days, so how could a club like Leicester reject £70 million if it was placed on the table? The Answer is: they probably couldn’t.