Chelsea and Manchester United interested in signing £42.5 million-rated defender: Reports
Chelsea and Manchester United are set to battle for AS Monaco defender Benoit Badiashile. The Frenchman will reportedly cost around £42.5 million as the Ligue1 side are unwilling to entertain any bid less than their asking price.
As per a report in L'Equipe (via GFFN), Badiashile is the latest name on Chelsea's radar after Jules Kounde. The Blues have failed to lure Matthijs de Ligt and Presnel Kimpembe, and are reportedly set to miss out on Kounde too, with Barcelona seemingly leading the race.
Monaco will not entertain offers of less than €50m for defender Benoît Badiashile (21), despite interest from Sevilla, Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester United. (L'Éq)
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Manchester United have signed Lisandro Martinez from Ajax this summer, but are looking to add more steel to their defense. The 21-year-old AS Monaco star is now linked with possible exits for Eric Bailly and Phil Jones.
Badiashile is highly rated in France and is seen as their next big defender. The Frenchman played 34 games for Monaco last season and helped them qualify for the Champions League.
Another Chelsea vs Manchester United battle on the cards?
Badiashile might not be the only player Chelsea face competition for from Manchester United. Rio Ferdinand has urged his former side to go after Declan Rice – a long term target for the Blues.
Exclusive: Declan Rice puts Manchester United and Chelsea on alert by turning down two West Ham contract offers. He also wants to be informed of any bids #whufc #mufc #cfc twitter.com/TeleFootball/s…
Speaking on Vibe with FIVE, Ferdinand said:
"That's not to say he hasn't got the ability, the kid's got ability, he's improving every single season you've seen him. He's added bits to his game. Last year, he added goals, the ability to drive with the ball from midfield."
He continued:
"He's defensively getting more acute and more understanding of the game, an absolute sponge of the game, educating himself all the time, always asking questions, always wants to know X, Y and Z. That's the type of player, the type of character that Man United need in their squad.
"Forget ability sometimes, there might be players with more ability in that position than him, more technical maybe than him, but what he lacks in that area, which won't be by a lot, anything he lacks in that area he more than makes up for it in the other critical areas that United need most."
West Ham United are reportedly not interested in selling the midfielder this summer.