Chelsea dispatch scout squad as they eye prodigious Bundesliga star.
Chelsea have announced the arrival of defender Benoit Badiashile from Ligue 1 side AS Monaco (Official Chelsea website). The 21-year-old spent five years in Monaco, developing from a youth prospect into a key first-team player.
Sky Sports have reported that the deal is worth around £35m on a seven-and-a-half-year contract. Under the new regime, the Blues have been offering longer-term contracts to young players. Reece James and Armando Broja signing new deals for an extended period of time are examples of that.
Badiashile is a left-sided defender who is an experienced first-team player despite being so young (21). After representing the youth sides of Monaco, the Frenchman started making senior appearances for them from the 2018/19 season onwards.
As a result, he has made 135 appearances for the Ligue 1 side, scoring six goals and assisting three, while playing all of his games as a centre-back, predominantly on the left-hand side.
Chelsea have been eyeing up to sign a left-sided centre-back since the summer transfer window. They agreed on personal terms with RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol, but the price tag was too steep.
A few days ago, The Athletic reported that the Blues are looking to add a striker and a defender in the January window. With the arrival of Badiashile, one of the tasks is complete.
Badiashile can slot in on the left-hand side of a three-man central defence under Graham Potter. He is excellent on the ball, reads the game well, is physically strong and possesses rapid pace to make recovery runs against pacy attackers.
We hope that he is fit and ready to go as there have been issues in our defence this season. Playing a natural left-footed centre-back on the left-hand side would add a different dimension in terms of our build-up play from the back and also the defensive game.
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