Chelsea are hoping to take advantage of French wing-back Jonathan Clauss entering the final year of his contract with RC Lens. The Blues are said to have made contact with the Ligue 1 club over a £10 million deal in the hope of prising the 29-year-old away from the Estadio Bollaert-Delelis.
Clauss capped off a fantastic journey from the lower leagues of French and German football to fully fledged French international earlier this year, having not featured in a top flight football match until he was 28. In 2021/22, Clauss provided five goals and 11 assists across 37 league matches from wing-back in an impressive season.
Chelsea may even have an advantage in luring the defender, also targeted by Atletico Madrid, after he admitted his affection for the Blues in an interview with RMC. He suggested: "Since I was kid, it’s been Chelsea, and it remains Chelsea."
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As a wing-back, it's difficult to think of a player who could displace Reece James from the Chelsea's starting XI and any successful transfer would likely see the Frenchman become back up to the England international. Goal suggest that a move for Clauss could in fact be actioned dependent on Cesar Azpilicueta's future. The Spanish defender could still move to Barcelona, despite having another year left to run on his contract.
However, despite Azpilicueta performing admirably as a wing-back in James' absence last season, it is difficult to see the figures as like-for-like. Chelsea's captain, his leadership not withstanding, plugged a number of gaps for Thomas Tuchel last season. The 32-year-old played in Chelsea's back three as well as on both flanks, in contrast to Clauss, who featured exclusively as a wing-back on the right.
The Blues will be hoping for the arrival of Jules Kounde to aid Tuchel's sparse backline but Azpilicueta still notched up 15 appearances in the centre of defence in a team that could call upon Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen. A player who can more obviously fulfil Azpilicueta's playing roles may already be at the club, however.
Trevoh Chalobah was not the only academy product to catch Tuchel's eye in Chelsea's last pre-season campaign. Dujon Sterling was used on the right side of a back three, rather than his preferred wing-back role and impressed the Blues' coaching staff with his performances. The 22-year-old eventually joined Blackpool on loan, where he played as both a right and left back and was equally impressive.
Sterling could not match the numbers of Clauss last term but did not feature as a wing-back for the Seasiders and is set to have an opportunity to impress Tuchel in pre-season once again. If the former Wigan and Coventry loanee can impress, he could certainly offer the Chelsea squad a similar boost to the one Chalobah did 12 months ago.
Having struggled to replicate their success in the wing-back positions when James and Ben Chilwell were both injured at the start of 2021, Clauss would still offer a lot as back up to the Cobham star. Reports suggests he has been a target for more than a year with his last 50 matches scouted. If the Lens star does arrive at Stamford Bridge however, it still feels that a replacement for Azpilicueta may be required.
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