Chelsea to battle it out with Serie A giants for young £13.5m defensive starlet

Chelsea to battle AC Milan and Nice for Mohamed Simakan

According to the French publication, Le10 Sport (h/t Chelsea FC), Chelsea have set their sights on Strasbourg defender Mohamed Simakan and will battle AC Milan for his signature.

The 20-year-old has been an ever-present in the French side this season. He could be on the move this month with the Blues keeping a keen eye on proceedings.

We will however not have a clear road at securing the talented youngster. Both AC Milan and Nice are also keen on securing his services.

Valued at £13.5million, Simakan could be a shrewd signing for the future. With the likes of Thiago Silva not getting any younger, the Blues will need to bring in another defender sooner than later.

Add to it the uncertainty surrounding the futures of Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, and Fikayo Tomori, the pressing need for defensive reinforcements down the line becomes apparent.

Silva and Simakan are at different ends of their career. The former is heading towards the twilight of his journey while the latter is still seeking to make a name for himself.

The prospect of such an established player like Silva preparing Simakan to take over in the future is not something to gloss over. Learning from such a decorated player can also help Simakan speed up his development into an elite defender.

Simakan and Malang Sarr could potentially develop into our centre-back pairing for the future.

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Simakan has been at Strasbourg since 2017, eventually making his first-team debut in July 2019. Since then, he has grown into a regular member of the team, racking up 42 appearances so far.

He has made 17 appearances this campaign, scoring one goal and assisting another. (h/t Transfermarkt)