Chelsea to act fast after transfer exclusion with swoop for French wonderkid
Chelsea will aim to strike a deal for 18-year-old French starlet Benoît Badiashile from AS Monaco in January, with the player set to join officially once next summer the Blues’ transfer ban concludes in January 2020, claims a report.
The men from Stamford Bridge have experienced mixed fortunes in the new campaign thus far, with incisive attacking play from the likes of Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham mixed in with an inability to defend at times.
Chelsea have conceded 13 goals in just seven matches in the league so far – that figure being the joint-third worst defensive record across the competition.
With Blues legend Frank Lampard intent on giving youth a chance in a period of what could be uncharacteristic stability in the Chelsea hot-seat, the club have turned their attentions to a towering French centre-back who has recently been a mainstay in France under-19’s set-up.
The report comes from French publication Le 10 Sport, who claim Badiashile is on the ‘radar of the London club’, with the player being ‘followed very, very closely by Chelsea.’
Chelsea’s two-window transfer ban pertaining to the signing of young foreign talents prevents Lampard from securing the signature of the six-foot-four centre-half, but a deal could be agreed in principle with the player joining in an official capacity upon the opening of the 2020 summer window.
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