Chelsea are behind Man City in race for £20m defender who’s been described as an absolute ‘monster’

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Chelsea could watch one defender on their radar join Manchester City or another one of their Premier League rivals this month.

Chelsea could try to sign another centre-back during the January transfer window following injuries to Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile.

It has already been reported that Chelsea are thinking about re-signing Marc Guehi, who left the club for Crystal Palace four years ago.

The England international is not the only central defender they are thought to be looking at, though.

• READ MORE: How Enzo Maresca really feels about Marc Guehi as Chelsea consider re-signing Crystal Palace defender

Chelsea not one of the frontrunners for Lens’ Abdukodir Khusanov

At one point, it was claimed that Chelsea were rivalling Tottenham for Abdukodir Khusanov‘s signature.

However, according to GiveMeSport, while the Blues do indeed have Khusanov on their radar, Spurs, City, Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers are the teams who are currently the frontrunners for the Lens youngster.

GiveMeSport’s report also claims that Khusanov could cost £20m, which is more than affordable for the above clubs.

Despite still being just 20 years of age, Khusanov could be a good fit for the Premier League. He has been described as a “monster” by teammate Brice Samba (via Get French Football News).

How does Abdukodir Khusanov compare to Levi Colwill?

Khusanov is only a year younger than Chelsea star Levi Colwill and could either partner him in central defence or join one of the Englishman’s rivals in the near future. With that in mind, it is worth comparing the two.

On the ball, Colwill has better stats, which makes sense. He is a ball-playing defender starting in a very dominant team.

In terms of defensive numbers, Khusanov comes out on top. But again, that perhaps comes down more to the kind of team he is playing in compared to Colwill.

Whatever the case, Khusanov is clearly a centre-half with a lot of potential. Maybe he could be a good partner for Colwill in the future.

What Enzo Maresca‘s side need now, though, is someone with a bit of experience. Chelsea are lacking a Thiago Silva-like figure on the pitch, and you can see that from all of the late goals that they have been conceding. They were breached in the 82nd minute by Jean-Philippe Mateta last Saturday, for example.