Chelsea’s transfer rumors have a first choice and a second choice (or more) for every position except for left back despite it being a major need and want.
Chelsea has top transfer targets like Jadon Sancho and Timo Werner. But the rumors also mention that, failing at either of those two, players such as Wilfried Zaha and Moussa Dembele will be looked at. Having main and secondary targets is a pretty common thing for Chelsea in recent seasons (even if they almost always end up with the secondary target).
The same cannot be said about left back. Sure, Nathan Ake could play left back but it is not his strongest role. The Blues were linked to Ben Chilwell for a while but there is seemingly no secondary option for that position.
On the one hand, there does not necessarily need to be. If Chelsea and Frank Lampard are dead set on Ben Chilwell, they should not turn around and get someone else this window. The same can also be said about Sancho and Werner. Better to wait six months and try for the player the club wants than settle in the short term.
Still, it is strange that Chilwell is seemingly the only left back option on the table. Even more so is that both Marcos Alonso and Emerson are linked to moves away and it appears Lampard would be satisfied moving on from both. To only have one target there is particularly odd.
Chelsea is nearly perpetually linked to Alex Telles, at least by the fans. He is a bit on the older side for what Chelsea is seemingly aiming for, but he is affordable and quite talented. But the rumors about him are fleeting at best.
Alejandro Grimaldo seems like a similar option and is younger than Telles. His release clause is higher, but is still more affordable than having to negotiate the large price that Chilwell would command.
Of course, neither of those two are home grown and that may be something Chelsea is looking for. Given Lampard’s propensity to give the youth squad spots though, homegrown and club trained quotas should not be an issue in the foreseeable future. It would be great to add Chilwell into the mix, but he is not needed for his nationality.
If Lampard is dead set on Chilwell, then the club is fine waiting on him. But players like Telles and Grimaldo would be fine alternatives which is why it is strange that there has been no solid rumor about either.
Chelsea is a club that has spent the last few seasons conducting transfers with tunnel vision. They push for one target until they either get them or it is near deadline day and an alternative needs to be put together quickly. That is basically how the 2017/2018 window became what it was.
Chilwell would be an excellent player to bring in. But the alternatives would too. Unfortunately, the lack of rumors implies Chelsea is either keeping things close to the chest or they simply are not looking at other options.