Chelsea are set to turn their attention to Wesley Fofana and Denzel Dumfries, according to reports, as they seek defensive reinforcements.
This has been a largely frustrating summer for the Blues to date, despite the additions of Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly.
The latter is in effect a replacement for Antonio Rudiger, who departed Stamford Bridge when his contract expired on June 30.
But given that Andreas Christensen left on the same date, Chelsea have fewer defenders at their disposal than they did last season.
Thiago Silva will turn 38 in September and Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso have been linked with moves away, so Thomas Tuchel is keen to bolster his backline before the transfer window closes on September 1.
According to The Athletic, Chelsea are weighing up a double swoop for Inter wing-back Dumfries and Leicester centre-half Fofana.
The Blues recently missed out on Sevilla stopper Jules Kounde, who is set to seal a switch to Barcelona this week.
They have identified Fofana as an alternative to his fellow Frenchman, but Leicester are not prepared to lose him on the cheap.
The Foxes have slapped an £85m price tag on the 21-year-old, who is under contract at the King Power Stadium until the summer of 2027.
Chelsea will hope to negotiate that figure down, but Leicester drove a hard bargain when they sold Harry Maguire to Manchester United for £80m three years ago.
A deal for Dumfries would probably be more straightforward, with Inter needing to sell at least one first-team player in order to balance the books.
Chelsea view the Netherlands as the ideal back-up to Reece James at right wing-back, while his presence in the squad would give Tuchel the option of selecting James as a right-sided centre-back.
The Blues will begin the new Premier League season against Everton at Goodison Park in the late kick-off on Saturday.
