Chelsea are now looking at signing an £80 million Real Madrid target, who Arsenal believe could be a long-term replacement for William Saliba.
Chelsea targeting new defender amid Disasi and Badiashile uncertainty
Head coach Enzo Maresca currently has a wealth of centre-backs at his disposal, with Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi making up the bulk of his options.
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Maresca unconvinced by “complete” Chelsea player who the club actually love
The west Londoners and their manager appear to be in disagreement over him.
However, uncertainty surrounds the likes of Badiashile and Disasi, as both men are far from regulars under Maresca.
Chelsea rate Badiashile highly and predict the Frenchman to have a bright future at Stamford Bridge, according to some reports. However, there is also a belief that Maresca is “unconvinced” by Badiashile, so the club and manager could be in disagreement over the defender.
Chelsea’s next Premier League fixtures | Date |
|---|---|
Leicester City (home) | November 23 |
Aston Villa (home) | December 1 |
Southampton (away) | December 4 |
Tottenham (home) | December 8 |
Brentford (home) | December 15 |
Disasi, meanwhile, has missed out on Chelsea’s last three Premier League matchday squads, with the vast majority of his 685 minutes coming in the Conference League and Carabao Cup as a makeshift right-back.
It is unclear just what the future holds for both men, but their long-term prospects aren’t helped by rumours that Chelsea are looking to sign a new centre-back in the next two transfer windows.
Indeed, Nottingham Forest star Murillo is a rumoured target for Chelsea, while it is also believed that Ilia Zabarnyi is being looked at by Maresca – who is an apparent “huge fan” of the Ukranian.
More interesting targets will likely emerge in the build-up to January, with RB Leipzig sensation Castello Lukeba now on Chelsea’s radar.
The 21-year-old, who has been likened to Man City star Josko Gvardiol for his playing style by the Bundesliga official website, has also been praised by former Leipzig managing director Max Eberl for his pace and his ball-playing ability.
“He is left footed and can play as a left-sided centre-back in both a back-three and a back-four,” said Eberl.
“Castello’s main strengths are his tough-tackling nature, his pace, his positioning and how good he is on the ball.”
Chelsea looking at signing Castello Lukeba
As per The Boot Room, Chelsea are looking at signing Lukeba, but they’re not the only ones as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Liverpool and Newcastle United also take a serious interest.
They’ve all been keeping tabs on the 21-year-old, who has an £80 million release clause in his contract, but another club to potentially watch out for is Arsenal.
The Gunners apparently view him as a potential long-term replacement for star defender Saliba, who has formed one of England’s best central defensive partnerships with Gabriel Magalhaes at the heart of Arteta’s backline.
“Castello Lukeba – what a player, what a boy,” said RB Leipzig manager Marco Rose.
“Willi gets injured, he’s on the pitch in the first game after that, wobbles once or twice and then rattles off his games against every opponent at the age of 20 at a top level.”
