The French international, who is 21 years old, signs for Chelsea for €38 million: According to The Athletic, Chelsea and AS Monaco, a club in Ligue 1, have agreed to pay around €38 million to sign Benoit Badiashile.
Even though the winter transfer window has only been open for a few hours, Chelsea is not wasting any time in the market. They are close to signing another player after agreeing to terms with David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos.
The Blues have been considering signing a new left-handed central defender for some time now. They were recently connected with a move for Josko Gvardiol, however, it has of late arisen that they stand out enough to be noticed by Badiashile.
Since then, Monaco and Graham Potter’s team have been negotiating a deal for the defender. They appear to have reached an agreement now that they have made steady progress in their efforts.
As per the previously mentioned source, Chelsea has agreed with Monaco to sign Badiashile. They are now in the running to get the France international’s services in a deal that will cost them between €37 and €38 million.
According to the report, the team at Stamford Bridge has already scheduled the 21-year-old for a medical. If nothing changes in the last minute, the player is now expected to sign a long-term contract with the English giants.
Before making his debut in Monaco’s 4-0 league loss to PSG in November 2018, Badiashile progressed through the youth setup. Since then, he has played for the Ligue 1 club in 135 games in all competitions, contributing to nine goals.
He is one of several young defenders Chelsea is looking to add to their defensive options. Eintracht Frankfurt’s Evan N’Dicka and Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapie were likewise purportedly getting looked at.
The Frenchman will now add more depth to Potter’s already strong defense. It is important to note that the Blues already have Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly, Thiago Silva, and others in their ranks.
Chelsea is quick to sign a midfielder
Badiashile is supposed to be a Chelsea player in a matter of seconds, however, there could be more approaches at Stamford Scaffold. According to reports, the London giants are eager to recruit a new midfielder this month.
An agreement to acquire Argentina international Enzo Fernandez is said to be under discussion between the Blues and Benfica. However, the Portuguese giants insist that the €120 million release clause in the player’s contract must be activated.
This month, Potter’s team may be unable to compete with Fernandez because of Benfica’s position. However, there are rumors that they are considering Alexis Mac Allister, a teammate from Argentina.