One of the biggest talking points surrounding Chelsea heading into the new season is their centre-back situation. The Blues have been riding a high in recent months, having finished fourth, won the Conference League and the Club World Cup pretty much on the trot. As a result, many feel it is time to consider them title contenders.
That might very well have been the case until Levi Colwill's ACL injury, which could keep him sidelined for the entire season and it remains to be seen what kind of long-term impact it will have on his game as a whole.
Also, it will be interesting to see if Chelsea end up bringing in a replacement for Colwill this summer or not. Enzo Maresca's comments to the media appeared to suggest that that was the plan. But since then, several outlets and reliable sources have suggested that the Blues are happy with the options they have right now at centre-back. Josh Acheampong's development has also been suggested as a reason behind not wanting to sign another central defender.
Yet, the World Champions continue to be linked with defenders. And now, as reported by Fichajes, Chelsea have their sights set on Bayer Leverkusen's Piero Hincapie. They have prepared a €50 million offer to sign the Ecuadorian centre-back.
Chelsea preparing €50m offer for South American centre-back
Hincapie has long been considered one of the best rising centre-backs in world football. So, it would not come as a surprise if Chelsea have their eyes set on him.
That being said, one has to wonder if Bayer Leverkusen are willing to see another key player leave this summer. Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz have already moved to Liverpool.
Hincapie is not the first defender to be linked with a €50 million Chelsea transfer bid either. Reports in Spain have also linked the Blues with a similar move for Ronald Araujo of Barcelona and Ibrahima Konate of Liverpool. So, let's see how accurate the speculation about the Ecuadorian international centre-back turns out to be.