Chelsea have turned their attention to PSV Eindhoven’s Ibrahim Sangare amid West Ham United’s high price tag for Declan Rice, Mirror reports.
The Blues are likely to be looking for a new defensive midfielder this summer with N’Golo Kante and Jorginho showing signs of regression during the current campaign.
Rice has been heavily linked with a return to his old club, but a deal seems unlikely with suggestions the Hammers want a staggering £150m for his services.
In the middle of this, Mirror claims that Sangare has become an option for Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel and could be rewarded for a significantly lower fee of £30m.
Our view:
Kante and Jorginho have been instrumental for the Blues in midfield alongside Mateo Kovacic. However, the duo have struggled with form and injury problems this campaign.
With both players in their 30s, Chelsea could be eyeing a young recruit as a long-term replacement. Sangare would be a quality addition with his strong defensive attributes and passing abilities.
The Ivory Coast star has averaged an impressive 3.2 tackles and 2.4 impressions per game for club and country this term while completing around 86 per cent of his passes.
His defensive stats are much better than Kante and Jorginho, but he may need some time to adjust to the added intensity of the Premier League, which should arrive this summer.
It may not be the same case with Rice due to his vast experience in the Premier League, but Chelsea cannot afford to spend the vast majority of their budget on a player whose defense also needs to be strengthened.
Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are set to go on free transfers when their contracts expire on June 30 while Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta they have also been promoted for outings.
So there could be a big rebuild of their defensive department this summer and the arrival of Sangare for a reasonable fee would save them valuable funds to pursue ideal goals.
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