Stamford Bridge side set sights on Etihad Stadium defender.
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Chelsea have joined a host of clubs monitoring Man City defender Micah Richards after the England man rejected the latest contract offer from his Etihad Stadium employers.
talkSPORT claim that the 25 year old has turned down an offer of a new deal and new boss Manuel Pellegrini is apparently ready to listen to offers for the adaptable defender.
Chelsea are joined by other interested parties AC and Inter Milan and Mourinho may see Richards as an able back-up option to strengthen his Blues defence.
Richards may well feel that he is something of a bit-part player at Man City having seen Pablo Zabaleta become the club’s first choice right-back and watched as youngster Matija Nastasic forced Joleon Lescott out of the starting eleven.
Micah Richards has struggled with injuries in recent seasons and started just seven Premier League fixtures in 2012/13 and may be looking for guarantees of his involvement at a prominent level from Pellegrini, a guarantee the Chilean may not be able to offer.
However one wonders if first team football will be easier to come by at Chelsea given that at right-back Mourinho can call upon Cesar Azpilicueta and Branislav Ivanovic and at centre-back has the likes of Gary Cahill, John Terry and David Luiz in his Blues armoury.
Richards has completed eight seasons in the Man City first team, making 232 appearances in the process.