Chelsea owner and interim sporting director Todd Boehly is already planning for next season in the defensive areas, with the club now in 'advanced' talks to sign long-term target and RB Leipzig star Joško Gvardiol.
The Blues have been in the market this summer to repair their defence following Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, and the soon-to-be Marcos Alonso exits. They have done this already with moves for Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella. Wesley Fofana is set to add more strength in depth to that regard as his £70million move from Leicester is set to be confirmed imminently with the French star's medical in the US now all done. However, this all doesn't seem to be enough as a new defender is set to be acquired for next season.
Fabrizio Romano tweeted: 'Exclusive: Chelsea are in advanced talks with RB Leipzig to sign Joško Gvardiol! A deal would be completed now, but with Gvardiol staying at RB Leipzig, he'd join Chelsea in June 2023. Official proposal submitted today around €90m. Negotiations are ongoing on the clubs side. (£77m). What does this mean for the future of the Blues' defence in the long run?
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football.london initially understood that it was set to either be Fofana or Gvardiol this summer, but the futures of more Chelsea stars have prompted Boehly to act faster than expected. Thiago Silva and César Azpilicueta could both be off at the end of the season as the pair could be returning to Brazil and Spain, respectively, for their swan song.
Meanwhile, the jury is still out for Levi Colwill, who now faces a real battle in the long term to win over manager Thomas Tuchel. The former Huddersfield loanee has started well under Graham Potter on the South Coast, but to compete and potentially dislodge Gvardiol from any future starting lineups is a huge challenge in itself.
The Croatian international, who was born in 2002, has an InStat technical performance data rating of 94, which ranks admirably in comparison to the likes of Jude Bellingham, Pablo Gavi, Vinicius Junior and Arsenal's Bukayo Saka.
Chelsea fans- Do you think that Josko Gvardiol's arrival will spell the end for Levi Colwill's Blues hopes? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
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