Arsenal, West Ham join Chelsea in chase for Middlesbrough defender — report

With Chelsea legend John Terry set to end his 22-year playing career (at the club, at least) at the end of the season, Chelsea will be looking for at least one new homegrown defender to help fill out squad.

One name that has been thrown around by the media has been Middlesbrough's Ben Gibson, a young and talented English centre back who is enjoying his first full season in the Premier League even as the team look headed back down to the Championship. Boro currently stand at 18th place in the Premier League with only 19 goals scored in 27 matches — the worst record in the entire competition thus far. But they’ve also only conceded 30 goals, which is good enough for fifth best in the division.

However, Chelsea are not the only team looking to pry Gibson to their ranks. According to the London Evening Standard, local rivals Arsenal and West Ham are also on the chase for the 24-year-old defender.

Although Boro want to keep Gibson around on the back of a five-year contract he signed in August, the club are well aware that this will be an unlikely feat if they get relegated to the Championship.

The potential relegation would also mean they would probably not be able to fetch the full rumored £30 million for the player, which is their set price tag at the moment. All in all, Boro's predicament could set up a good opportunity for Chelsea (and our rivals) to pick up a good English player at a fair price next summer.