Chelsea are hopeful that their bid to sign Ben Chilwell from Leicester City this summer will be successful.
A report from the Guardian states that Chelsea want Chilwell, 23, to hand in a transfer request to force Leicester to sell him.
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It is believed Leicester want close to $100 million for the England international but Chelsea are hoping the Foxes’ failure to qualify for the Champions League, plus if Chilwell puts in a transfer request, will lower the price.
Frank Lampard has improved his attack dramatically with the additions of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech, while Kai Havertz could also be on the way.
A new left back, goalkeeper and center back are believed to be on Lampard’s wishlist to improve his leaky defense and if they can’t sign Chilwell, Chelsea could move for Ajax and Argentina defender Nicolas Tagliafico or Atlanta left back Robin Gosens.
Chilwell is the first-choice option and he’s been consistently one of the best left backs in the Premier League over the past three seasons and he is young and English, two things Lampard seems to love as he creates a new identity for the Blues who are in the FA Cup final this weekend and sealed a top four finish in the Premier League in 2019-20.
His form, like Leicester’s, did dip during December and January but Chilwell is still young and has the perfect balance of being solid defensively but also having a threat in attack. Current Chelsea left backs Marcos Alonso and Emerson aren’t as well-rounded as Chilwell with Alonso a threat going forward but suspect defensively and the opposite can be said of Emerson.
Chilwell has been linked with Manchester City in the past but it appears Chelsea are now the clear frontrunners as they will hope to haggle on the price.