Chelsea in talks over Monaco defender Badiashile, work to sign left-sided CB in January (reliability: 5 stars)

Chelsea are working to sign a new left-sided centre-back in January, The Athletic's David Ornstein reports.

The priority is Monaco defender Benoit Badiashile, with Chelsea already talking to the French club.

The Athletic's sources suggest that the 21-year-old will join Chelsea in the weeks ahead for a fee of around £30m.

For months, the Blues' priority for that role has been RB Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol. The club remains among the Croatian's admirers, but his rising value and tough competition have forced them to widen the search.

Other names mentioned in the report are Eintracht Frankfurt's Evan N’Dicka — who could become a free agent next summer — and Bayer Leverkusen's Piero Hincapie.