Thomas Tuchel has reportedly asked Chelsea's board to fund a move for Real Madrid defender Eder Militao.
The Blues boss could be forced to reshape his defence in the summer transfer window, with three regulars on course to leave Stamford Bridge for free at the end of the season.
Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta's contracts all expire in June, and although Tuchel is keen to keep the trio in west London, Chelsea are yet to tie any of them down to new deals.
With the situation rumbling on, AS say that the German tactician is hoping to sign a replacement in the form of Militao, who he is a big fan of.
The 24-year-old is in his third season with Real and has already made more La Liga appearances this term than in his previous two, becoming a key part of Carlo Ancelotti's mean defence which has made them title favourites.
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Militao, who is contracted to Los Blancos until 2025 and would be difficult to displace, has helped Ancelotti and co to boast the third-best defensive record in the Spanish top flight.
And to boot, the ex-Porto starlet is now an established, 21-capped international for Brazil.
What could have persuaded the Blues manager is Militao's ability to defend well in wide areas, having previously played at right-back during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Madrid paid £41.7million for the Brazilian's services in 2019 and his career in the Spanish capital has been a mixed one but is now on the up.
Recently, Tuchel was provided with a boost regarding Rudiger's situation, arguably Chelsea's best player this season.
The Germany international, who has himself been linked with a move in the opposite direction to Militao, told Sky Sports: "Like always, I'm fully committed to the cause."
Rudiger added: "You have to think about your family. My kids were born here in London so that tells you that my family feel great here.
"The rest is up to other people to make decisions and then we will see if we come together or not."
And the 28-year-old went on to admit: "There were worse times than this so that's why for me I've found it easy to deal with. I'm focused on what is happening here and on the pitch.
"I owe it to everyone here around the club, the coach, my team-mates and my family so that's why I'm only focused about the important things.
"The other things are speculation - I cannot say anything about that."
Meanwhile, as Christensen and Azpilicueta's situations also remain unresolved, club legend Gianfranco Zola thinks only two of the three soon-to-be free agents will stay, telling The Sun: "You don't want to lose players when they have been so good like Azpilicueta and Rudiger.
"At the same time you don't want to lose a good prospect like Christensen. I think we will see two stay — but don't ask me the names.
"Luckily, I am not Tuchel and it is very easy for me not to answer the question. I would maybe keep the young one and one other.
"It is not very respectful and I don't want to sound disrespectful because they have given the club so much."
