West Londoners are more likely to be able to meet Frenchman’s asking price than the north London club though.
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Chelsea are hoping to steal a march on arch-rivals Arsenal in the race to sign highly rated Olympique de Marseille defensive midfield player Giannelli Imbula when the winter transfer window opens again for business in the new year, according to reports in the Daily Express.
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The France Under-21 international has only been with the Ligue 1 giants since the beginning of this season after moving to the Stade Velodrome from minnows Guingamp last July on a five-year deal after scoring five goals in his 108 league appearances for the Ligue 2 outfit between 2009 and 2013.
In fact, the 21-year-old was even voted as the best young player in the French second division last May on the back of an outstanding campaign for his former club, and Imbula has continued that eye-catching form with him in the South of France so far in this season.
The Frenchman has so far managed to hit the back of the net on one occasion in total in his 12 matches in all competitions for Marseille, which came in Ligue 1, however, with a contract at his new club that runs until June 30 2018, both the Blues and the Gunners will need to splash the cask come January in order to be able to lure Imbula to the Premier League.