Chelsea's transfer attention is turning to strengthening their defence after landing attackers Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, according to reports.
Atletico Madrid's Jose Gimenez and Real Madrid's Sergio Reguilon are both said to be on Frank Lampard's target list, while moves for Barcelona's Marc Andre ter Stegen, West Ham's Declan Rice and Leicester's Ben Chilwell may have hit the buffers.
The search for a replacement for goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga had led the Blues to monitor the situation with Barça stopper Ter Stegen – though according to Spanish paper Mundo Deportivo, he is now close to signing a new five-year deal at the Camp Nou.
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West Ham's £80m evaluation of Declan Rice, meanwhile, has led Lampard to make Atletico's Gimenez his no.1 centre-back target, with Football Insider reckoning he could land the 25-year-old Uruguayan star for £60m, despite an eye-watering £110m release clause.
That £20m may sound small change given the vast sums the Blues are chucking around, but it could help them sign a new left-back. Leicester's Chilwell has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge – setting off a transfer chain reaction that would see the Foxes go for Arsenal's Kieran Tierney – but difficulties in negotiations mean that Chelsea are now looking at Real Madrid's Sergio Reguilon.
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According to ESPN, the 23-year-old would cost around €25m – roughly £22.5m in pound sterling. Given that tremendous saving on Gimenez over, that's really only an expenditure of £2.5m by wheeler-dealer Lampard! Right? Right?
That outlay could be why a loan move is also reportedly on the table – especially as Reguilon has already spent a year on loan at Sevilla.
Chelsea have already splashed out £48m on Timo Werner and £35m on Hakim Ziyech this summer, while a proposed moved for Bayer Leverkusen's Kai Havertz could cost about £90m. Should the Havertz, Gimenez and Reguilon transfers all come to fruition, the Blues will have spent over £250m in this window. And that's without buying a goalkeeper.
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