Chelsea Weighing Up Bid For £45m Rated Defender To Rival Azpilicueta

Chelsea Weighing Up Bid For £45m Rated Defender To Rival Azpilicueta

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has asked for the club to sign Napoli fullback Elseid Hysaj, according to reports in England.

The Albanian is a favourite of the Blues boss after working with the right-back at both Empoli and Napoli.

Hysaj could cost as much as £45m, though, with it being thought that Chelsea will look to sign the player on an initial loan spell.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is said to be unlikely to sanction a temporary move and would prefer to sell him.

Hysaj has fallen behind Kevin Malcuit in the pecking order at the Partenopei with the 24-year-old’s agent having spoken publicly about his player’s lack of game time.

The fullback has also been linked with Liverpool and Manchester United in recent months but the Blues are firm favourites for the defender.

If Hysaj does move to Stamford Bridge this month on a permanent basis, it would likely put Cesar Azpilicueta’s position in the side under threat.

The Spaniard has captained Chelsea in all 23 league games under Sarri so far this season.

David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.