Well this was unexpected. Apparently, Chelsea are making a push for a right back that isn't Cesar Azpilicueta, and one that they already at least partially own: Wallace. The 18-year-old Fluminense right back had his rights partially transferred to the Blues as part of the Deco deal two summers ago, and now it looks like Chelsea are going to get the rest of him:
In the last few hours Chelsea have made their move. The deal is concrete because Chelsea already own 40% of his rights from the transfer of Deco. The plan was to take him to England when 18 years old, which he arrived at in May. Now, Chelsea are working to close the deal and to make sure of the young prospect, Wallace.
-Source: Sky Italia via Sambafoot.
Sky Italia aren't the most reliable of sources, and this is second hand even from them, but this is still fairly interesting. Earlier this summer we had indications that Napoli were in for the youngster, and more recently Juventus had managed to get themselves involved -- any sale would have seen Chelsea receive forty percent of the proceeds -- but it's not a shock that the Blues might want Wallace for themselves. He's a very impressive prospect, and would count as home-grown if he makes it as a first-teamer.
This would not impact the Cesar Azpilicueta chase in the slightest. Wallace isn't ready to step up to the first team just yet, and we still are in need of a backup right back behind Branislav Ivanovic. Instead, think of Wallace as strong competition (or an insurance policy) for Todd Kane. With his rumoured price at somewhere between €2 and €4M -- we'd pay sixty percent of that, remember, this seems like a very reasonable deal, albeit one which doesn't really do much to help us in the here and now.
Is this going to happen? I'm not entirely sure. That makes it fun, right?
Related: Marseille confirm Chelsea's Azpilicueta pursuit | Follow us on Twitter 