Chelsea in talks over signing 'the next Virgil van Dijk' for expected £86m: report
Chelsea are looking to improve an ailing defence, with a big-money option being pursued
Chelsea are looking to bring a new defender to Stamford Bridge, as Mauricio Pochettino addresses both ends of the pitch.
The Blues' striker struggles are well documented, with Nicolas Jackson leading the line at current – but the backline hasn't been particularly watertight, either. Pochettino has flitted between the likes of veteran Thiago Silva alongside French duo Axel Disasi and Benoit Badishile among others, with Wesley Fofana still sidelined.
Contact has been made over a new superstar centre-back, with the west Londoners prepared to spend big to solve their problems.
TEAMtalk claims that Sporting star Ousmane Diomande is being lined up for the defence, with the Portuguese club contacted over a potential move.
The Lisbon giants have indicated that it'll be £86 million to prise the Ivorian away from their side after Diomande has struck up an impressive relationship in the defence with fellow Premier League target Goncalo Inacio. Sporting stand to make a huge profit, too, having signed him for a snip from Midtjylland.
Chelsea aren't the only ones with their eye on DIomande, however. The likes of Real Madrid and Arsenal are said to be interested in signing him, too.
According to TEAMtalk's report, "Leny Yoro and Jean-Clair Todibo are also on Chelsea’s radar alongside Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, but Palace have refused to sell the England star in this window."
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Transfermarkt values Diomande at €40m.
More Chelsea stories
Chelsea are ready to rival Manchester City and Barcelona for a Brazilian teenage starlet who has been likened to Lionel Messi.
Chelsea are also eyeing a striker who is scoring plenty of goals for La Liga surprise package Girona.
And the Blues have joined the race to sign a defender who has been likened to Raphael Varane.
Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.