On the back of Levi Colwill's potential season-ending ACL injury, Enzo Maresca has sounded pretty keen on adding another centre-back to his ranks at Stamford Bridge. And why would he not be? The Englishman was the Blues' best central defender last season and Chelsea do not necessarily have someone capable of replacing his quality on the pitch.
Josh Acheampong did a pretty decent job in the opening game against Crystal Palace. Trevoh Chalobah is a solid option as well. But then, both Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile have proven to be injury-prone, while Tosin Adarabioyo is out with one right now with the extent of it unclear.
All things considered, Chelsea might need to reconsider their transfer plans and aim at signing a centre-back. Encouragingly, they have been linked with a few lately. Reports in Italy have claimed that Inter Milan turned down their €50 million offer for Alessandro Bastoni.
On the other hand, as reported by GIVEMESPORT, Chelsea are set to consider lodging a transfer bid for Piero Hincapie. He is believed to have a £52 million release clause.
Chelsea considering late bid for centre-back with £52m release clause
Bayer Leverkusen are not expected to entertain the idea of a Hincapie exit this summer, especially this late in the window. They have already seen key players like Jonathan Tah, Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong depart in recent times.
That being said, there is a release clause in his contract. So, Bayer Leverkusen would not have a choice, if the Blues choose to meet it.
It remains to be seen if Chelsea do indeed end up making a bid to sign Hincapie. He has been considered one of the brightest rising defenders in Europe for quite some time now. Also, he is still just 23 years of age, meaning he has a decent bit of experience under his belt already but also has plenty of room to grow, especially since centre-backs get better with time.