Chelsea have joined the race to sign Oleksandr Zinchenko with Thomas Tuchel keen on signing three Manchester City players this summer.
The Ukrainian left-back joins Raheem Sterling and Nathan Ake on the Blues' radar as Tuchel tries to strengthen his squad ahead of the new season. The likelihood of Chelsea completing all three deals are slim but it is understood Todd Boehly is aiming to get at least one over the line in the coming days.
Sterling is the player at the top of their priority list with Chelsea already making a formal offer for the the 27-year-old, who has been linked with a £55million move to Stamford Bridge. They hope to wrap up a deal by the end of the week which would be Todd Boehly's first signing since taking over the club earlier this month.
Meanwhile, It has also been reported by the Telegraph that Boehly has requested a valuation for Ake, who could be allowed to leave City in the transfer window. The Blues are in desperate need to bolster their back-line after losing Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid and Andreas Christiansen on a free transfer.
Mathijs de Ligt is supposedly their No.1 centre-back target but they have not ruled out signing Ake, with Newcastle United and Aston Villa also named as possible destinations. The Dutchman actually started his career at Chelsea before signing for Bournemouth in 2017, where he established himself as an excellent Premier League defender.
Now, the Blues have expressed an interest in Zinchenko with City pursuing a move for £50million-rated Brighton full-back Marc Cucurella. Everton and West Ham United are also said to be interested in Zinchencko but the funds are not as readily available at those clubs.
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This could leave the door open for the Blues to sign the player who has got two years' left on his current contract at the Etihad Stadium. The 25-year-old joined City in a deal worth around £1.6m back in 2016 and has gone on to make 128 appearances for the club, winning four Premier League titles, an FA Cup and four Carabao Cups.
He featured 28 times last season as City edged out Liverpool to claim another top-flight title and Zinchenko played a vital role on the final day, setting up Rodri for the equaliser against Aston Villa. Having predominately featured on the left side of defence for Guardiola's men, Zinchenko can also play further forward and actually signed for City as an attacking midfielder.
Zinchenko made a handful of appearances in midfield and has played in that position for his country over the past few years. But Chelsea would undoubtedly use him as a left-wing back with Marcos Alonso's future in doubt while Ben Chilwell has not started a game since November after suffered a serious knee injury.
