Centre-back is a position where Chelsea will look to strengthen this summer. Levi Colwill seems to be the only settled player in defence. Other than him, nobody else even has a certain future at Stamford Bridge. The club wanted to find Trevoh Chalobah a permanent home even last year. Both Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi are believed to be on the transfer list. And the time has come to have some tough conversations about Wesley Fofana, who has played 34 times for the Blues in three years.
On the other hand, Chelsea continue to be linked with centre-backs from around Europe. Reports have suggested that Tomas Araujo of Benfica is their top target in defence.
Interestingly, another defender currently playing in Portugal might be equally interesting to the Blues. That is none other than Ousmane Diomande of Sporting CP.
Rumours have suggested that both Chelsea and Arsenal are interested in Diomande. Aston Villa and Crystal Palace have entered the race for his signature as well.
Chelsea favourites over Arsenal to sign £50m centre-back
As reported by Football Talk, Chelsea might be the favourites to sign Diomande, considering they can offer him regular minutes immediately. Arsenal have two indispensable centre-backs in their squad in Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba. So, he'll be a secondary option there.
Of course, it remains to be seen if Chelsea do make a move for Diomande or not. There is a belief that Sporting CP could be open to offers in the region of £50 million although his release clause is higher.
Of course, there are plenty of other options for Chelsea to consider as well. The most sensible might be going for Marc Guehi, who is not only proven in the Premier League and an England international but also came through the youth ranks at Stamford Bridge.