Manchester City are trying to get ahead of Chelsea and some of their other Premier League rivals in the race for one defender.
Defence is an area of Chelsea‘s squad that is likely to be strengthened in the summer.
Mauricio Pochettino has had problems in both central defence and the full-back positions.
For example, some of his centre-halves have struggled to stay fit, while it has been the same story with his full-backs.
Pochettino recently confirmed that there will be a proper assessment of Chelsea’s squad at the end of the season.
Man City have held talks to sign Chelsea target
Focusing on Chelsea’s left-back situation, it is something to be concerned about ahead of the 2024/25 season.
Ben Chilwell has made just 13 league appearances this term because of injuries.
Marc Cucurella could also be sold, with it being claimed that the club view him as expendable.
The Blues could sign Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Rayan Ait-Nouri as a replacement for either of them. Journalist Simon Phillips claimed on his Substack last month that they have him on their shortlist of potential left-backs who could come in.
However, they could be beaten to the punch. According to FootballTransfers, City have already held talks with Wolves about signing the 22-year-old, who is also attracting interest from Arsenal and Liverpool.
Who are the favourites to sign Rayan Ait-Nouri?
Out of City and Chelsea, you would think the former. They look like they are going to win the Premier League title again after Arsenal and Liverpool both dropped points over the weekend and are still in the Champions League so could claim that trophy as well.
Simply put, City are in a vastly greater position than Chelsea. It really should not be hard for them to convince Ait-Nouri to join them over their Premier League rivals.
If the Citizens really have opened talks to sign the Algeria international, then Chelsea better start looking at other targets.