For a while, it had looked like Chelsea were certain to sign a centre-back this winter. Reports broke out that the club had a three-man shortlist. Jeremy Jacquet of Rennes was believed to be on top of that. And the Blues even agreed on personal terms with the player. So far, they have not been able to find an agreement with the French club. With merely days left in the window, it is looking increasingly unlikely that a breakthrough will be reached in time.
Interestingly, the club do not seem to have progressed in trying to sign any of the other two centre-backs who were mentioned on that shortlist. We are talking about Marcos Senesi of Bournemouth and Jacobo Ramon of Como FC.
Instead, it appears that a Brazilian centre-back is now on the Blues' radar. But he is seemingly wanted by Real Madrid as well.
As reported by Fichajes, Chelsea lead the interest in Natan, the solid central defender from Real Betis. The London club is confident in its financial resources to submit an offer of around €40 million during this transfer window.
Chelsea want Brazilian centre-back after struggling to sign Jeremy Jacquet
Natan is 24 years of age and already has a decent bit of experience under his belt. He started his career at Flamengo before moving to RB Bragantino. His performances earned him a move to Napoli but he could not establish himself in Naples before making a move to Real Betis.
This is not the first time that Chelsea are being linked with a player from La Liga in this window. Those from Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have also been on their radar if reports coming out of Spain are on the mark.
Despite this, no signing has been made so far. As a result, let's not get too excited about the links to Natan just yet.