Frank Lampard has reportedly expressed his wish for Chelsea to sign either Ajax’s Nicolas Tagliafico or Robin Gosens if they cannot complete a deal for Leicester’s Ben Chilwell.
The Blues boss is known to be a big fan of Chilwell, who has shone for the Foxes from left-back this season.
Leicester are not willing to sell the player on the cheap, however, and are said to be demanding at least £80m – the same price they sold centre-back Harry Maguire to Manchester United for last summer.
And according to Metro Tagliafico and Gosens are being considered as alternatives if a Chilwell move proves too expensive.
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Tagliafico has been at Ajax for three seasons, helping them win the Eredivisie last year, and he was also a big part of the side that reached the Champions League semi-finals in that campaign.
Gosens, meanwhile, has impressed for Atalanta in their impressive season, and will attempt to inspire his side to the Champions League semi-finals when they take on PSG in the last eight next month.
While neither of those two players are likely to come cheap, they would certainly cost a lot less than Leicester are demanding for Chilwell, and given that Chelsea have already splashed out close to £100m on acquiring Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, they likely wouldn’t be able to justify £80m on a left-back.
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The Blues are also thought to be closing in on Bayer Leverkusen winger Kai Havertz, while they are in the market for a new goalkeeper following the poor form of Kepa Arrizabalaga, with Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak one of the names most strongly linked.
Chilwell, however, has allegedly asked Leicester for a move, and if Chelsea do not attempt to sign him it will be intriguing to see if another Premier League club attempt to test the waters with a bid for the England international.
