Chelsea are reportedly in hot pursuit of Hellas Verona midfielder Reda Belahyane in the last week of January. tRANSFER window.
The Blues have recalled Trevoh Chalobah from his loan spell at Crystal Palace to provide defensive cover, while a number of players are in various stages of leaving Stamford Bridge this month – including Renato VeigaChristopher Nkunku, Carney Chukwuemeka and Ben Chilwell.
But there are still no new additions to Enzo Maresca's squad. That could change amid rumored interest in Belahyane, who at just 20 years of age, would be another example of the club scouting and recruiting talent to develop long-term.
Gianluca Di Marzio writes that Chelsea are “pushing hard” to sign Belahyane, having identified him as a replacement for Cesare Casadei, who is wanted by Lazio.
Casadei has been largely limited to Conference League minutes this season, starting three times in the group stage but barely making the bench in Premier League. His departure is expected despite a lack of midfield depth that saw Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall start a league game for the first time as a Chelsea player. against Wolves earlier this week.
Maresca was Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia are missing due to muscle injuries for that 3-1 victory, unable to name a single senior midfielder on the bench.
Di Marzio's report suggests that once Casadei's future is settled, Chelsea will press ahead with a €15m (£12.7m) deal to sign Belahyane.
The talented youngster only moved to Italy last summer when Hellas recruited him from OGC Nice. He has started 15 times for the difficult Serie A team this season at the base of the midfield.
Chelsea remains increasingly linked with Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnachobut time to reach a potentially complicated deal is running out fast.