Chelsea set sights on Chilwell after Werner blitz, according to various reports

The dust has not settled on the Timo Werner deal, but it looks like Chelsea are already on to the next target.

Various reports in the last couple days have stated that after Werner, Chelsea will be looking to sign a left back, and ideally a left back named Ben “Expensive” Chilwell. He would presumably be the second of two “marquee” signings apparently promised to Lampard by Roman Abramovich.

Chelsea have been linked with the Leciester City left back since the start of the season, but while the trail ran cold at one point, it now appears that we’re once again hot on his heels. However, it won’t be as “easy” as either the Ziyech deal nor the (presumably soon to be confirmed) Werner deal.

Ziyech had a €30m release clause which was removed last summer, with the understanding that if a big club came with a reasonable bid, Ajax would let him go. They stayed true to their word when Chelsea came calling.

Werner meanwhile does have a released clause, and hence, there is nothing that RB Leipzig could do once the player was open to the move.

However, Leicester will not roll over just because Chelsea ring them up. The 2015-16 champions have big aspirations both domestically and in Europe, and they want to become a household name around the world like many of their Premier League counterparts. And, not to mention, they actually sit higher than Chelsea at the moment in the table!

Without a release clause, first we’d have to convince Leicester, and that won’t be cheap, to say the least. While Chilwell does seem somewhat interested in joining Chelsea, Harry Maguire’s transfer to Manchester United last summer, and the huge sums involved in that will probably have Leicester looking for something similar — especially with four (4!) years still left on Chilwell’s contract.

Chilwell is expected to cost around £80m, even in a pandemic-hit economy. So, as much as signing the 23-year-old England international would be a beneficial move, we shouldn’t completely ignore the other potential (cheaper) options available in the market, like Nicolás Tagliafico, Alex Telles, or even Nathan Aké.