Chelsea, Juventus leading race for Olympique Lyonnais midfielder — report

Olympique Lyonnais might have a fifteen-point gap between them and third place Nice in Ligue 1, but they remain comfortably set for a Europa League berth for next season thanks in large part to the showings of a few key players this season.

Among those is 22-year-old midfielder Corentin Tolisso, who has stepped into the spotlight on more than a few occasions, in this, his fourth professional season. Contributing with a few key goals and generally sharp passing, Tolisso has prompted steady interest from Europe’s elite, including the likes of Chelsea and Juventus. In fact, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport (via A Bola), it is those two clubs who are currently in the lead for his signature.

The report claims Lyon want at least €34 million for Tolisso, with Juventus willing to offer €17 million plus midfielder Mario Lemina. Juve's opening bid should propel other clubs interested on Tolisso to make bids for him as well.

The trouble with Chelsea bidding for Tolisso at the moment is that our current selection of top level talent (Kante, Matic, Fabregas), not to mention potential loan returnees like Lewis Baker, would limit opportunities for anybody not immediately world class coming in. Spending that much money on a back-up a rather unwise way to spend our transfer budget — we already have one Michy Batshuayi situation to deal with, after all.

Stranger things have happened of course, and the futures of anyone other than Kante could be up for debate. Stay tuned.