Chelsea are close to bolstering their defence by signing Benoît Badiashile from Monaco for €37m (£32.7m). Badiashile is due to undergo a medical after Chelsea reached an agreement on a fee. The 21-year-old Frenchman is a left-sided centre-back and will give Graham Potter more options.
The west London club have been looking to add more depth in central defence since losing Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rüdiger. Personal terms were agreed with Josko Gvardiol last summer but Chelsea were unable to meet RB Leipzig’s asking price for the Croatia defender. Gvardiol starred during the World Cup, helping Croatia finish third, and will command plenty of interest in the summer.
Badiashile represents a more affordable option. He is strong, quick and has featured for France at senior level. Potter’s other centre-backs are Thiago Silva, Kalidou Koulibaly, Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana, who is out with a knee injury.
Chelsea, who are confident of extending N’Golo Kanté’s contract, are looking to be aggressive in January as they attempt to kickstart their top-four challenge. They are trying to boost their midfield by signing Enzo Fernández from Benfica and are also interested in the Brighton midfielder Alexis Mac Allister. In attack they could rival Arsenal for the Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhailo Mudryk.
The Blues have already agreed to sign the striker David Datro Fofana from the Norwegian side Molde and are expected to confirm the arrival of Andrey Santos from Vasco da Gama.
