Some Chelsea fans have said that they would prefer Wolfsburg centre-half Maxence Lacroix over Jules Kounde as the latest on the Blues search for new defenders is revealed.
Thoams Tuchel's side are looking at possible central defenders, with the contracts of a key quartet expiring in the summer.
Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva all have their deals expiring at the conclusion of the 2021/22 campaign, which means they can all talk to European clubs in January.
football.london understands that Rudiger is the most likely to leave at this point, with Marina Granovskaia and co. hoping to agree deals with the other three players.
Real Madrid are lurking in the background as January approaches and could attempt to tie up a pre-contract agreement with Rudiger.
football.london understands that there is still a £60,000 difference in weekly wages between Rudiger and Chelsea and despite what Joleon Lescott and Steve Sidwell had to say in the build-up to the west Londoners' 1-1 draw with Everton, this is likely to not change Granovskaia's mindset.
Instead, the Russian sporting director, who recently landed the best sporting director award at this year's Golden Boy ceremony, is seemingly planning ahead for a future without Rudiger, as the fresh reports indicate.
According to ESPN, Sevilla are willing to drop their €80million (£68million) valuation of Kounde, which could allow the Blues to swoop in and make a move before next summer.
The Spanish side are now reportedly willing to accept a fee in the region of €50million to €60million (£42.5million to £51million) , with the defender now in the final two-and-a-half years of his contract.
The report says a move in the summer is more likely than in January, but given Chelsea's defensive requirements, Tuchel could accelerate a potential transfer if the price drops sufficiently.
Kounde is also said to be keen on a move to Stamford Bridge and has reportedly agreed a contract of around four or five years in preparation for a transfer.
It seems as though the Frenchman's impeding move to west London could be at the detriment of Azpilicueta, with the same outlet claiming that Barcelona are closely monitoring his situation.
Tuchel is reportedly a huge admirer of Kounde, dating back to when he was Paris Saint-German manager and Kounde was at Bordeaux.
Lille's Sven Botman and Wolfsburg's Lacroix are also said to be targets, as Tuchel looks to strengthen his backline.
Could Kounde be Azpilicueta's replacement whilst Lacroix comes in as the long-term replacement for Rudiger?
We will have to see how this one plays out but if it was a straight decision between the two French targets, then it seems a large majority of the west London faithful would opt for the Bundesliga option instead of the La Liga one.
Here's the best of the reaction on social media to this conundrum.
@elmusnigel was rather complimentary of the current back-up option: 'Lacroix is very good.. Future van dijk get him now before he becomes 80m.'
@mountszn0 is warming to the idea of Lacroix to Chelsea: 'Caught a vibe.'
@ColwillCFC stated: 'Ooh I’d defo take Lacroix.'
@Kamaulaan delivered his two-word demand on the Wolfsburg man: 'Get him.'
@HuvelyesM is team Kounde: 'Kounde or no one man…we dont need more BANG AVERAGE.'
@TheNickBradford wishes that we weren't having this debate at all: 'Wish we would’ve just kept tomori.'
With Tuchel being a known admirer of the former FC Sochaux man as revealed by Julien Laurens in recent transfer windows, the prospect of Lacroix and Kounde moving to the English capital could be highly probable if any of the aforementioned quartet of current Chelsea defenders were to leave Stamford Bridge.
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Lacroix, 21, has featured in nearly every game so far for Wolfsburg in all competitions, totalling 20 so far, and his individual defensive statistics look good so far.
Lacroix ranks fifth for interceptions (43) and seventh for successful dribbles from the back (81.3%) in the Bundesliga this season, as per FBref.com, which is rather impressive for a centre-half, especially the progressive nature of driving the ball up field as demonstrated by the latter of the two trends.
