Chelsea continuing to monitor Hellas Verona center back Marash Kumbulla — report

Marash Kumbulla, briefly linked with Chelsea in January, has once again made it to the Chelsea rumor pages.

The Hellas Verona center back, who recently celebrated his 20th birthday, is in the midst of his breakout season and has been turning heads in the Serie A with his solid defending. Clubs like Inter Milan and Lazio have reportedly already held talks with the player’s entourage, while Napoli were even reported to have a pre-agreement to sign him in the summer. But that may not be the case yet, as Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness) report that Chelsea and Everton are both still keeping tabs.

Kumbulla has played 18 Serie A matches this season, and Hellas Verona have conceded just 15 goals in those matches — a massive reason why the newly promoted side are all the way up to 6th in the league. The local kid came up through the club’s academy but decided to represent the country of his parents, making his senior Albania debut in October.

His current contract runs through 2022, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Verona cashed in already. Kumbulla may be on the inexperienced side, but his asking price is €30m. It wouldn’t be the worst idea to monitor the player for the rest of the season, especially if Christensen leaves and someone like Koulibaly is priced out of a move.