Chelsea make contact with Ligue 1 club over a move for €15m defensive ace

Chelsea approach Strasbourg for Mohamed Simakan

According to French publication Le10 Sport (h/t Metro), Chelsea have made contact with Ligue 1 club Strasbourg over the possibility of signing defender Mohamed Simakan in January.

Simakan has been on Strasbourg’s books since 2017. Having risen through the youth ranks, the 20-year-old defender made his first-team debut in July 2019. Since then, he has grown into a regular member of the team, racking up 42 appearances so far.

Simakan has been an ever-present in the side this season, starting each of Strasbourg’s 17 Ligue 1 games. He has scored and assisted one goal apiece in the process.

The centre-back’s impressive performances have led to interest from Serie A giants AC Milan. The Rossoneri had tried to sign him up in the summer, but a move had failed to materialise.

However, they are looking to make a move for him again in January but are set to face competition from Chelsea. The Blues strengthened the centre-back department with the signing of Thiago Silva in the summer.

And while the Brazilian has forged a solid partnership with Kurt Zouma, it must not be lost that he is 36 years old and will need his game-time to be managed and gradually replaced.

So, bringing in a new long-term option to replace Silva in the coming years does make plenty of sense. And while Simakan is still at the beginning of his career, he has shown plenty of potential and can be groomed into a future leader of the defence.

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To that end, Chelsea have made an approach to Strasbourg to sign him, along with OGC Nice. Strasbourg are demanding a transfer fee of at least €15m. It remains to be seen if we succeed in the pursuit of Simakan.