Journalist Paul Brown has said that Chelsea will now focus on Jude Bellingham as they look to solve their midfield struggles.
With both Jorginho and N’Golo Kante in the final year of their contracts and turning 31 and 32 this season respectively, the Blues’ midfield is in need of a revamp.
Other options include Mateo Kovacic, loanee Denis Zakaria, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Conor Gallagher.
However, Loftus-Cheek has only made 32 Premier League starts during his time at Stamford Bridge while Gallagher’s three appearances from the off in a Chelsea shirt have all come in this campaign.
As such, Graham Potter may look to reinforce his options in that department and has been tipped to make a move for a familiar face at Brighton in Moises Caicedo.
Hailed as the ‘genuine article’ by South American football expert Tim Vickery, the Ecuadorian would be an exciting addition but it appears that the west Londoners may divert their attention elsewhere.
The Athletic have pitted the Todd Boehly-led outfit among the contenders for Bellingham, who is thought to have a £103m asking price.
Declan Rice has also been heavily linked with a switch across the capital but when asked if Bellingham and Rice are more likely to be targeted by Chelsea than Caicedo, Brown told GIVEMESPORT: “Yes, Bellingham particularly. I think pretty much all of the top English clubs want Jude Bellingham.
“His people have obviously made several clubs aware that he would be interested in coming to the Premier League.”
Previously described as ‘world-class’ by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp, Bellingham could likely become the subject of a bidding war next summer.
The 19-year-old has enjoyed a career-altering spell in Germany, scoring 13 goals and providing 18 assists in 100 appearances for the Black and Yellow.
Incredibly, he ranks in the top 5% of central midfielders across Europe over the past year in an array of metrics per 90 minutes.
According to Fbref, he is in the top 5% of his positional peers for assists, dribbles completed, touches in the opposition area and progressive passes received.
These are all attributes that point to his eye for goal, which could add another dimension to the Chelsea engine room, and it will be interesting to see if indeed he does become the club’s priority in that department.
