Blues will shortly be needing a new water carrier in west London next season.
Check in to Transfer Window: Done Deal Alerts
Chelsea are in a three-way fight with AS Roma and Paris Saint-Germain for highly rated Guingamp midfield player Gilbert Imbula, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
The soon-to-be France Under-21 international, who has also attracted interest from Arsenal this summer, has been with Guingamp for his whole career to date, having made his debut for the French outfit back in 2009.
And in the intervening four-year period, the 20-year-old has featured in 90 matches in total in all competitions for his club, and scoring four goals as well in the process from his holding midfield berth.
As a result, new Blues head coach Jose Mourinho is keen on bringing the youngster to Stamford Bridge now that the summer transfer window finally reopened for business at the start of this month, with the self-styled ‘Special One’ viewing the player as a possible replacement for Nigeria international John Obi Mikel, who is expected to leave west London this summer to join Galatasaray.
However, the Portuguese knows that he faces a tough battle in order to seal Imbula’s signature, although the Uefa Europa League holders are now favourites to land the defensive midfield player.