Chelsea wishing, waiting, hoping Ben Chilwell puts in transfer request — reports

Despite Leicester City trying their best to hold on to their starting left back, it appears that Chelsea are not going down without a fight.

According to reports from the Guardian and Goal, Frank Lampard is insistent on acquiring Ben Chilwell, and only Ben Chilwell. Chelsea haven’t (yet?) considered any other potential left back targets, such Nicolas Tagliafico, Robin Gosens, Marc Cucurella or Alex Telles.

Despite being optimistic about a transfer, the Blues know that getting Chilwell won’t be easy, or cheap since his current contract runs all the way until 2024.

Chelsea are hoping that Leicester’s failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League will soften their stance and they will let Chilwell leave for much less than £80m. The Blues are apparently also counting on Chilwell to put in a transfer request, however it’s worth recollecting that the same tactic did not work in the case of Harry Maguire. Goal further claims that Leicester have already rejected an offer from Chelsea.

The departure of either Emerson Palmeiri or Marcos Alonso is also not a foregone conclusion yet, with neither of them being told that they are surplus to requirements and Emerson in particular wishing to stay in London.

Leicester City boss, Brendan Rodgers commented recently about possible outgoing players, and while the Foxes do drive a hard bargain, his words do give some buoyancy that Chilwell will be sold if he wants to be sold — although there is no guarantee that the price will be generous from the Blues’ perspective.