Chelsea have been linked with a move for RC Lens right-back, Jonathan Clauss. The 29-year-old is reportedly being monitored as Thomas Tuchel looks to strengthen his defence.
Although urgent attention is required at centre-back for Tuchel as a result of Antonio Rudiger's move to Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen's imminent Barcelona transfer, the Blues are also looking to strengthen the wing-back areas.
Cesar Azpilicueta's long-term Blues future is also in doubt whilst Marcos Alonso is also on Barca's wish list. The Blues are prepared to let the wing-back depart if an acceptable bid arrives, football.london understands.
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If Alonso does get his wish and joins Barcelona, French newspaper La Voix du Nord have reported that the club are targeting Clauss to replace him. The report claims that Chelsea have been monitoring his performances in Ligue 1, while Lens are open to selling the 29-year-old if their €10 million (£8.5m) valuation is met.
Chelsea fans might not know much about Clauss. So, with that in mind, football.london has taken a brief look at his career so far.
A long-term academy product of Strasbourg, Clauss spent years in the lower divisions of France and Germany before signing a contract with Quevilly-Rouen in Ligue 2 for the 2017–18 season. After spells at Arminia Bielefeld in 2. Bundesliga, he joined newly promoted Lens, where he finally made a topflight appearance in France at the age of 28.
At the end of the 2020-21 season, he was named in Ligue 1's Team of the Year by the Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionels (UNFP). He was the club's standout performer after providing 11 assists and scoring five goals from full-back during the campaign. As Alonso has often contributed to goals scored in Tuchel's system, it's easy to see why the German would want to see Clauss in blue.
In March 2022, he received his first call-up to the France national team when manager Didier Deschamps selected him for friendly matches against Ivory Coast and South Africa.
Plus, to make negotiations that little bit easier, Clauss has just one-year left on his current deal and has no plans to stay at Lens. Instead, he'd probably like to move to Chelsea, given that the Blues are his boyhood club. During an interview with RMC Sport in May, he said: "Since I was a kid, It’s Chelsea and it remains Chelsea [the team I dream about playing for]."
