Chelsea star Trevoh Chalobah could see his minutes reduced in the comings months given the form of Benoit Badiashile and the return to fitness of Wesley Fofana. Despite the defensive signings of Kalidou Koulibaly and Fofana in the summer, Chalobah has continued to be a constant figure in the Blues defence making 19 appearances this season.
Badiashile's £35million move to west London from AS Monaco in January followed the struggles Chelsea were facing on the left of the back three deployed by Potter, with two new arrivals in Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella unable to fill the role adequately. Chelsea have since switched to a back four, with Badiashile partnering Thiago Silva, while Chalobah has been pushed slightly out of position to right back.
The return of Reece James, however, saw him drop down to the bench with Cesar Azpilicueta then preferred to the Englishman after James was brought off on the hour mark with Chelsea managing his recovery from injury.
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If James is able to stay fit, it would likely mean Chalobah's best chance of coming back into the team would be in the centre of defence either displacing Silva or Badiashile from the starting spots they've seemingly nailed down. Fofana is also set to make a long-awaited return from injury as well which could further diminish the minutes available to Chalobah.
The exclusion of Badiashile from Chelsea's Champions League squad will likely mean a straight battle between Chalobah and Fofana for the vacant spot in Europe, with Koulibaly also likely to be pushing for the position. If Chalobah deems he is not happy with his game time, he could push for an exit and a possible destination has now appeared that could certainly appeal to the 23-year-old.
According to Italian journalist Niccolo Ceccarini, Chalobah has been identified by Inter as a possible replacement for Milan Skriniar who has a pre-contract agreement to join Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.
Ceccarini said: “Overseas, another option could be Chalobah. A talk that Inter could set up as part of a broader operation with Chelsea, who are aiming to take [Denzel] Dumfries for next season.”
Denzel Dumfries' name being mentioned throws up the possibility of a swap deal being agreed despite the Blues welcoming Malo Gusto to the club from Lyon ahead of the 2023/24 season. Therefore any interest in Dumfries from west London has certainly cooled for the time being.
However, a move for Chalobah certainly can't be overlooked given how well Fikayo Tomori is doing in Italy after making a huge decision to leave his boyhood club and go abroad in search of regular minutes.
Tomori ended up joining AC Milan in 2021 after a successful loan spell at the club and in his first full season at San Siro he won the Scudetto title. Upon seeing his fellow Cobham graduate win silverware away from England, Chalobah could be tempted to follow in his footsteps if Inter proceed with their proposed plan to sign the defender.
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