Chelsea clinched a 2-0 win against Everton at the weekend, with Cole Palmer back on the scoresheet as Enzo Maresca's side returned to winning ways. Before this, Chelsea had failed to win any of their last four matches across all competitions, with the Blues struggling on both ends of the pitch during that winless run.
While they have struggled going forward in the absence of Palmer, Chelsea's backline suffered a big blow with Levi Colwill's ACL injury in preseason, which might keep him out for the rest of the campaign. At the very least, the Frenchman will be out for the majority of it.
Wesley Fofana has put in a few solid performances in recent weeks, but his long injury history makes it hard to rely on him for the whole season. The same is true for Benoît Badiashile, who put up an amazing performance against Liverpool before getting injured in the same match and has not looked great since his return to fitness.
Meanwhile, Axel Disasi's future remains uncertain as he doesn't seem to be part of Enzo Maresca's long-term plans and is expected to leave shortly. In the summer, the manager initially stated that he wanted to replace Colwill, but instead of signing another centre-back, the club chose to continue with what they had. In hindsight, that was a mistake and should be rectified in the winter window.
Chelsea ready to make £52m bid to sign French international
According to TEAMtalk, Chelsea are prepared to bid €55-60m in the coming weeks to sign Castello Lukeba and believe personal terms would be straightforward. He is on Bayern Munich's radar as well.
It is believed that RB Leipzig could be willing to consider offers in the region of €60 million (£52 million) this winter. Let's see how things play out from here.
Chelsea and Bayern Munich are not the only ones interested either. Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, and Real Madrid have all shown some interest. However, none of these clubs are expected to move before the summer.
Bayern Munich are believed to be Chelsea's main competitor. While their top objective is to extend Dayot Upamecano's contract, Lukeba is their primary backup plan if talks fail.
The French defender made 68 appearances for Lyon before joining RB Leipzig in the summer of 2023. He has made an additional 87 appearances over the last two and a half seasons in Germany, and he also represented France at the senior level. Furthermore, he was a member of the Olympic team that reached the final last year.