Chelsea are set to make a “mind-boggling” offer for a new centre-back in 2024, according to a new report.
Chelsea transfer news
The Blues and Todd Boehly were once again busy over the summer, bringing in Mauricio Pochettino as manager and making a number of new signings.
However, it hasn’t led to an immediate impact, with Chelsea once again struggling in the Premier League. After 20 rounds of fixtures, the Blues sit just inside the top half, with eight wins, eight defeats and four draws. As a result, there could be further transfer activity this year, with Pochettino recently hinting at the need for new additions, saying:
"After the first half of the season, we need to check. That is the reality. If we are not receiving enough, maybe we need to do some movement.
"That is the thing to analyse with the sporting directors, to see if we can change this dynamic and improve in the second half of the season. We need to be more aggressive. Then it's a massive assessment and when the transfer window opens, we will see what we can do.”
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Recent rumours have claimed that Chelsea are working on a deal to sign centre-back Ousmane Diomande from Sporting CP ahead of Arsenal. Other defensive targets appear to be Benfica’s Antonio Silva and Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo, however, Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni is also a player of interest.
Chelsea set to make Bastoni offer
According to reports in Italy in the past 48 hours, Chelsea are set to make a “mind-boggling” offer in the region of €60m (£51.6m) to sign Bastoni, who could “radically change the squad available to Pochettino”.
The report adds that Inter Milan may be tempted to accept the offer which will allow them to keep Lautaro Martinez for longer, although a potential move to Stamford Bridge wouldn’t be until the summer.
Bastoni, a left-footed centre-back, has been with Inter since 2017 after leaving Atalanta and is now valued at a career-high €60m by Transfermarkt. The 24-year-old has now made 183 senior appearances for Inter in all competitions – 19 of which have come during the current campaign – with the defender contributing to 17 goals during his time with Inter. (Alessandro Bastoni stats – Transfermarkt)
He has earned plenty of praise over the last few years, including Serie A expert Conor Clancy, who labelled Bastoni as a “phenomenon” following initial rumours of a move to England.
"He's the best Italian centre-back around. He's a phenomenon. He is going to be the next generation of Italian defence himself."
Chelsea aren’t short of centre-back options at this moment in time, with Levi Colwill, Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Malang Sarr and Thiago Silva all available to Pochettino, but come the summer, things could once again look different, so the club may see a move for Bastoni later this year as a key priority, making this one to watch.
