Fabrizio Romano reveals all on Chelsea interest in £69m-rated defender after previous failed move

Chelsea are looking to strengthen their back-line and it has been reported that they have reignited their interest in a previous target.

With three consecutive losses before the international break, Chelsea find themselves on a poor run of form. After an initial bounce under Graham Potter, they have struggled of late.

Potter himself has struggled to settle on his best 11 and has continued to chop and change. The loss of Antonio Rudiger in the summer was always likely to cause some problems.

Chelsea did invest in their defence over the summer, but they have had some problems in this department.

Wesley Fofana has only played two league matches up until this point due to injury.

After a promising start, Kalidou Koulibaly has also failed to fully adapt to his new surroundings.

Chelsea currently sit eighth in the league and risk missing out on Champions League football if they don’t soon turn things around.

Josko Gvardiol is back on the radar 

In the summer transfer window, Chelsea had tried to tempt Josko Gvardiol away from RB Leipzig, but they were unsuccessful.

They had been keen to complete a deal at around €80million (currently £69.3m), but the German club rejected any of Chelsea’s advances in the summer.

Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Chelsea could resurface their interest in the player and come up with a fresh offer.

He explained (via CaughtOffside): “Chelsea are interested and have been since last summer.

“They wanted him for 2023 in an €80m deal plus add-ons but Leipzig refused.

“At the moment I’m told Chelsea remain interested but there’s still nothing agreed; the race is open, nothing will happen now as he’s 100% focused on World Cup.”

Gvardiol is a Croatian international and will feature at the World Cup this year.

The 20-year-old has played in 13 Bundesliga matches this season, starting in eight of them. Throughout this season he has played as a centre-half as well as a left-back on some occasions.

Chelsea need quick fix

Given all of the money that Todd Boehly has invested into Chelsea so far, they cannot afford to miss out on the top four this season.

If they continue at their current rate of averaging 1.5 points per game, they will finish the season with just 57 points.

Scoring goals has been the main problem for Chelsea this season, but keeping them out also hasn’t been easy.

Potter’s side have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last seven matches across all competitions.

Their 4-1 defeat against Brighton sent off alarm bells and highlighted just how vulnerable they can be at the back.

Due to a variety of reasons, Potter hasn’t been able to settle on a consistent back-line and so they have had problems in this department.

The returning Reece James, Ben Chilwell and Fofana should bolster their defensive options in the new year.

With that being said, it would be no surprise to see Chelsea splashing out on their defence come the January window in order to strengthen their current options.

READ MORE: Todd Boehly ‘unconvinced’ by Chelsea stars, with one of Everton’s English core lined up as replacement