Chelsea Targeting 18 Year Old Defender Who Has Been Compared To Koulibaly And Idolises Van Dijk

Chelsea Targeting 18 Year Old Defender Who Has Been Compared To Koulibaly And Idolises Van Dijk

Chelsea and AC Milan are both weighing up whether to make a bid for Dynamo Kyiv centre-back Ilya Zabarnyi this summer, according to Goal.

The 18-year-old is already a regular starter for his club and was even included in Ukraine’s starting eleven for their opening game of the European Championships against the Netherlands on Sunday.

Scouts have already compared Zabarnyi to Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, in terms of his stature and ability to dominate opponents, while the player himself is said to be modeling his game on Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.

Whether Chelsea need to sign a centre-half, it is up for debate. Antonio Rudiger’s contract situation is a concern with the German having not signed an extension despite his current deal expiring next year.

Both Zabarnyi’s age and lack of experience at the highest level may count against him, though. Other options are reportedly being considered with Bayern Munich’s Niklas Sule, Sevilla’s Jules Kounde and Villarreal’s Pau Torres all thought to be on the club’s radar.