£35m ‘great talent’ now ‘one to look out for’ at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea’s pursuit of Monaco and France U21 international Benoît Badiashile is “definitely one to look out for” at Stamford Bridge, as Graham Potter heads into his first transfer window as the Blues’ head coach, transfer insider Dean Jones has told GiveMeSport.

The west London side are looking to compete for a place in the Champions League during the second half of the Premier League campaign.

Chelsea transfer news – Benoît Badiashile

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Chelsea are currently in talks with Monaco over a potential deal worth over £30m for Badiashile to join the Stamford Bridge outfit in the new year.

The 6 foot 4 star, previously described as a “great talent“, is a left-sided centre-back that the club has lacked throughout the current season.

Meanwhile, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has now claimed that the Blues are in advanced negotiations over a deal for the 21-year-old, with a fee of over £35m being touted in any potential deal.

Journalist Jacque Talbot told GiveMeSport in the summer that the centre-back could have been an alternative for Sven Botman at Newcastle United, should a deal for the Dutchman have fallen through, but it now seems that a move to west London is on the cards for the Frenchman.

And Jones believes that the potential signing of Badiashile fits in with Chelsea’s policy of buying young talent, as Potter looks to rebuild the squad at Stamford Bridge.

What has Jones said about Chelsea and Badiashile?

Jones told GiveMeSport: “They’re looking at this rebuild with an eye on young talent. Man Utd have had an eye on him too at one stage. He’s got a lot of people in the game talking very highly and they’ve been very impressed by him. So, it’s definitely one to look out for.”

Would Badiashile be a good signing for Chelsea?

With the club having a lack of left-sided centre-backs at their disposal, the signing of Badiashile would immediately fill a gap at Stamford Bridge.

The 17-time France U21 international has played 16 times for Monaco so far this season, scoring two goals in a campaign in which he has been a regular in the Ligue 1 side’s backline, according to Transfermarkt.

The defender is capable of playing the ball forward and building attacks from the back, with the Monaco man ranking in the top 7% of centre-backs across Europe’s big five leagues as well as the Champions League and Europa League for progressive passes made per 90 minutes (3.80), according to FBref.

Therefore, it looks as though Chelsea will be acquiring a talent who will fit Potter’s back three/five system down to a tee and the Premier League outfit will hope that they can get this signing over the line before long.

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