Chelsea are willing to fork out a world-record £85 million fee to land top target Wesley Fofana from Leicester City.
The Blues saw centre-backs Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen both leave - for Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively - on free transfers in the summer.
Kalidou Koulibaly has come in from Napoli for £33 million and taken on the No.26 shirt worn by legendary captain John Terry.
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But Thomas Tuchel is keen on bringing in another central defender and has his eyes sight on Fofana, 21.
Chelsea, backed by new American billionaire owner Todd Boehly, put in a massive £60 million offer but Leicester want the same level of fee they successfully commanded for Harry Maguire in 2019.
Manchester United paid £80 million for the England defender and according to The Sun, Chelsea are prepared to meet Leicester's £85 million valuation of Fofana.
Chelsea are hopeful of thrashing out a deal for less but rate Fofana so highly that they would be happy to give Leicester exactly what they are asking for.
It would be a world-record sum for a defender, eclipsing the amount the Foxes collected from the sale of Maguire three years ago.
Leicester paid £36.5 million to sign Fofana from Saint-Etienne and he was in fine form in his first season as Brendan Rodgers' side won the FA Cup - ironically beating Chelsea in the final at Wembley.
He suffered a broken leg in pre-season last year and was out of action until March when he returned with a goal against Rennes in the UEFA Conference League.
Chelsea missed out on French duo Jules Kounde and Presnel Kimpembe but are nearing a £60 million move for Brighton's Marc Cucurella.
Promising defender Levi Colwill, 19, is set to move in the opposite direction as part of the deal but it is not yet known whether it will be permanently or on loan.
Colwill and five other players have not been given a shirt number for the new season.
Topics: Wesley Fofana, Chelsea, Leicester City, Premier League
Josh Lawless