Chelsea have reportedly added Lille’s Sven Botman to their inventory of potential targets for the upcoming transfer windows.
This is according to ESPN, who claim Botman is now on the Blues radar as they look for more defensive recruits.
Who is Sven Botman?
The 21-year-old’s name is already well known throughout Europe, thanks to his performances during Lille’s title-winning charge last season.
He played 47 times across all competitions in his debut campaign with the current Ligue 1 champions, having left Ajax last July.
“He’s a defender, and by that I mean he likes to defend; he likes to play simple, he’s strong, he’s tall, he wins his duels, he doesn’t overcomplicate the game, he’s good on the ball, left-footed,” said Lille captain Jose Fonte in February about his youthful teammate.
Manchester United, Liverpool, Wolverhampton Wanderers and most recently Newcastle United have all been linked to the young centre-back.
Now, it seems Chelsea are next to throw their hat into the ring.
Chelsea demanding defenders
They may well need more reinforcements in defence depending on the status of several key players after the New Year.
Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva are all out of contract next summer and time is running out to renew their deals.
Hence the sudden surge to sign a new central defender.
On the Blues Christmas list is apparently Jules Kounde – a long-term target of the Stamford Bridge chain of command – and Maxence Lacroix, another player previously linked to the Champions League holders.
Botman is also currently under consideration by the club he has a surprising connection with.
During his days with Ajax, the Holland Under-21 international worked alongside former Chelsea centre-half Winston Bogarde.
“Then, individually, you have to win your duels, which is something that I learned from Winston Bogarde in the Ajax youth system,” said the Lille star.
“Bogarde had the killing attitude, ‘Nobody will dribble past me’. I learned a lot from this mentality.”
Bogarde played for the Blues between 2000 and 2004 before retiring from the sport.
Perhaps he could put in a good word with the board about his ex-pupil…