Chelsea already appear to have decided on the signing of Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni if reports in Italy are to be believed.
As per tuttomercatoweb, the Blues are willing to pay up to €60million (£51million) for the Frenchman in an effort to bolster their midfield.
It is certainly surprising to see the Blues’ highlight their intentions considering in the same report, it is suggested that Monaco would accept just €50million (£42million) for Tchouameni’s services.
It certainly begs the question then as to why Marina Granovskaia would possibly be willing to pay over the odds for the Frenchman, especially when she has developed the reputation as a shrewd operator in the transfer market during her time at Stamford Bridge.
The main reason could well be to do with the considerable competition that Chelsea face in attempting to sign the 21-year-old.
A number of prominent European clubs also appear to be interested in Tchouameni, including Real Madrid, Juventus, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Chelsea’s show of intent then could well be an attempt to eliminate any unnecessary competition.
However, the Blues could also be learning lessons from one of their failed transfers in the summer, where they attempted unsuccessfully to secure the signature of Tchouameni’s compatriot Jules Kounde.
The Blues have been linked with the Sevilla defender for a considerable amount of time and pushed hard for his signing in the summer transfer window after having a number of bids rejected by the Spanish outfit.
Eventually, Chelsea were unwilling to meet Kounde’s the £68.7million release clause that was apparently written into the France international's contract.
Whilst the Blues have so far not been inconvenienced by his failed arrival, it certainly could have come back to bite them had Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva, and Trevoh Chalobah all not been in top form throughout the campaign so far.
Even Kounde himself has suggested he felt impacted by any deal falling through.
When asked if he was affected by the transfer furore surrounding him, he said: “Yes, a little bit, but now I’ve dealt with it.”
Chelsea will be keen to avoid a similar situation as they pursue the services of Tchouameni and they have certainly laid down an early marker as interest cranks up in him ahead of the January window.
