Chelsea looking at defensive midfielders, with Ligue 1 stars Aurelien Tchouameni, Boubakary Soumare, and Boubacar Kamara on the list

The Blues could raid France with financial uncertainties for many clubs there

We all know and read the stories about Chelsea’s desire to sign Declan Rice last summer, or more so Frank Lampard’s desire.

The former Blues boss wanted Rice as his priority target, and the board would have sanctioned a move if they weren’t quoted in excess of £85 million by West Ham to sign him.

A move did not transpire and although you cannot entirely rule it out in the future, Rice back to Chelsea now seems fairly unlikely.

But there are figures within the board who do believe that Chelsea still might want to consider signing a defensive midfielder, an enforcer type, something they haven’t really got in this current squad.

Jorginho is a ball-playing defensive midfielder, and N’Golo Kante is more a box-to-box ball carrier than a holding defensive midfielder despite his good defensive attributes.

Chelsea lack some real grit and physicality in the middle of the park, and this is something that has been discussed by those high up at the club and will be discussed with Thomas Tuchel as well when they come to talk about targets.

Three players I know that the club have scouted who could fit the bill is Aurelien Tchouameni from Monaco, Boubacar Kamara from Marseille, and Boubakary Soumare from Lille.

Many French clubs in Ligue 1 are struggling financially right now in the face of the pandemic and need to raise funds, so clubs looking to sign players from this league right now could do so with ease.

Kamara, 21, has been looked at by Chelsea for some time and can also operate as a centre back, which is another position the club are looking to improve in.

Whilst Chelsea’s interest in 21-year old Soumare was first reported by top sources back in the summer and the club are still keeping an eye on his situation, with Leicester City looking likely to move for him this summer.

But perhaps the latest name to be linked with Chelsea is Monaco’s enforcer Tchouameni, who also happens to be 21-years of age.

Chelsea’s interest in him was first reported by the reliable French reporter Julien Laurens a few weeks back, and since then we have had it confirmed that the club are scouting him, as are many other teams.

It is clear that Chelsea are looking at this type of player and consider it to be a missing link in the squad, and they’re also looking to take advantage of getting a potential bargain from France.