Chelsea are considering making a move for Arminia Bielefeld defender Amos Pieper, as a replacement for Antonio Rudiger.
Rudiger has informed Chelsea he wants to leave the club this summer, according to Thomas Tuchel, as relayed by The Athletic.
With Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen out of contract in the coming months, Chelsea will be looking to bring in another defender or two to bolster their back line.
According to the Daily Mirror, Chelsea are taking a look at German defender Pieper, who is also out of contract in June. The six foot four defender is only 24, and signed for Arminia Bielefeld from Borussia Dortmund’s second side.
With Thiago Silva edging towards the end of his career, Chelsea need to be targeting defenders with plenty of time left. Although they have youngsters Malang Sarr and Trevoh Chalobah, they both have a lack of experience at the top level.
Pieper has been a regular in the top division in Germany for two years now, making more appearances than Sarr and Chalobah put together in this period.
The report also lists Southampton, Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund as clubs interested in the defender, so it won’t be straight forward for Chelsea to secure the signature of 24-year-old.