According to The Times, one of the most reputed sources in the United Kingdom, Chelsea are 'willing to sell' N'Golo Kante in a bid to fund a move for their top summer targets, including Kai Havertz.
Most clubs have been hit hard by the financial crisis stemming from the pandemic but Chelsea have signalled their intent with big-money deals for Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner.
The Blues have already spent in excess of £80 million even before the commencement of the transfer window but it is understood that Frank Lampard wants to make a few more additions to bolster his squad.
The manager has been told that any further significant summer signings will need to be facilitated through player sales, meaning that some of the existing names in the squad could be sacrificed to make room for new arrivals.
The likes of Marcos Alonso, Michy Batshuayi, Emerson, Olivier Giroud and Jorginho have all been linked with moves elsewhere across the continent while Chelsea have outcasts like Tiemoue Bakayoko, Victor Moses, Danny Drinkwater and others to try and raise some useful cash.
Mario Pasalic's £13.5m sale to Atalanta will undoubtedly hand a boost to the transfer kitty while a large fraction of the money is expected to arrive from Alvaro Morata's £48.5 permanent move to Atletico Madrid.
It is perhaps a bit surprising to see Kante among Chelsea's wantaway list but with the Frenchman already 29 and struggling to deal with recurrent injuries, the time might be right to cash in on him.
Reports earlier in the year claimed Real Madrid have earmarked the 29-year-old as a potential target for the summer window. Those rumours have faded away of late but it's unlikely that there would be a shortage of suitors if the World Cup winner is put up for sale by the Blues.
Meanwhile, Havertz remains a top target for Chelsea but the West Londoners will probably need to fight it out with Real Madrid for the Germany international's coveted signature this summer.
The 21-year-old has reportedly told the Los Blancos that he wants to join them but the La Liga giants are unwilling to spend big and are keen to wait until next summer to make a move, with Havertz's contract set to expire in 2022.
Chelsea's interest in the German has been well-documented over the past few weeks and the player himself has dropped a strong hint over a potential move to West London by liking a post on Twitter that read 'announce Havertz'.
However, The Telegraph recently reported that Chelsea and Bayer are still '£20 million apart' in their respective valuations of the player.
The Bundesliga outfit are holding out for £90m while the Blues are only prepared to offer a reasonable £70m for his services, although reports elsewhere have claimed that his valuation could drop if Leverkusen fail to secure Champions League qualification.
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