Chelsea
are in advanced talks to sign Monaco central defender Benoit Badiashile for
a fee of around £35m.
The 21-year-old has won two full caps for France.
Former Tottenham head of recruitment Paul Mitchell is sporting director at
Monaco, who are open to a sale.
Head coach Philippe Clement has said of the prospect of losing the likes of
Badiashile next month: "As a coach, we're always happy when the transfer
window shuts.
"We'll see. It depends on the situations, if they're interesting for the
club or not. The most important thing for me is that the players have their
minds here, and that's the case."
The 6ft 4in France international - a left-sided centre-back - has always
wanted to play for a Premier League club contending for the Champions
League, with West Ham and Sevilla reportedly having previously been
interested.
Graham Potter is seeking flexibility in his back line with Chelsea currently
sweating over the fitness of Wesley Fofana after the defender suffered a
setback in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Brentford.
Potter said prior to the fixture against Bournemouth: "Wesley [Fofana] just
had a little setback which can sometimes happen at the very last stage of
the rehab. It will be a couple of weeks so he won't be available for the
game."
Croatia's 20-year-old World Cup star Josko Gvardiol has also attracted
plenty of interest from Chelsea but The Sun claim his rising value and
reputation has left the Blues considering more immediate options.
Chelsea's January transfer plans assessed
Analysis from Sky Sports' Paul Gilmour:
"It's no secret that Todd Boehly is targeting the best young players in
world football as they embark on building a squad that can compete for many
years.
"It's a policy that is consistent with giving Graham Potter a long-term
contract and it's an approach that will become normal practice at Stamford
Bridge in the coming years.
"It's already been evident with the pre-contract summer agreement for France
international Christopher Nkunku but this January they are on the lookout
for a midfielder and a striker.
"The injury to Armando Broja has left them light in forward positions and
they are the lowest scorers in the top half with only 17. In midfield,
N'Golo Kante has been regularly absent.
"Like Nkunku, Declan Rice is likely to be available for the right price in
the summer, but Chelsea won't want to give up their bid to qualify for the
Champions League without a fight. I expect them to attempt to make signings
this January."
How much have Chelsea spent recently?
To put it simply - a lot. Chelsea were the highest spenders in the Premier
League in the summer, paying £278.4m for 10 new players as the club's new
owners made their presence felt.
At £75m, Wesley Fofana was the Blues' most expensive purchase, while £63m
was spent on Marc Cucurella and £47.5m was paid to Manchester City for
Raheem Sterling.
What issues do Chelsea need to address?
There would have been a number of issues troubling Graham Potter as he saw
his side's form collapse in the weeks leading up to the World Cup. However,
there are two problems in particular that are hurting Chelsea - a lack of
creativity and a lack of goals.
The Blues have an expected goals total of just 15.61 from their 14 Premier
League games - only six other sides have recorded a lower figure - while
they have scored only 17 times in those matches. For context, Manchester
City have an xG total of 28.09 and have scored 40 goals over the same
period.
The fact that no player has managed more than two assists in the league
speaks volumes - as does Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling being the top
scorers with just three goals each.
Chelsea were hardly the great entertainers under Thomas Tuchel but they will
continue to go backwards under Potter unless they address their
dysfunctional attack.
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