Chelsea could try to sign another defender before the transfer window closes.

Last month, Chelsea brought in Tosin Adarabioyo from Fulham, but they may not be done there.

Since then, the Blues have gone on to strengthen other areas of their squad, confirming the signing of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester City on Tuesday.

They have also lured striker Marc Guiu to west London from Barcelona, with the 18-year-old unable to say no to the club’s project.

Chelsea now want to see if another player is keen to make a similar move this summer.

Chelsea targeting defender

Chelsea are not lacking numbers in defence. While Thiago Silva has left the club, Adarabioyo has come in to fill the hole that the Brazilian left.

The Blues also have Marc Cucurella and Ben Chilwell, who can play at left-back, while Levi Colwill showed last season that he can start either there or in central defence.

Nevertheless, Chelsea still seem to be interested in Bologna’s versatile defender Riccardo Calafiori, with Fabrizio Romano claiming that they have him on their shortlist but want to find out if he wants to join the club before doing anything.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the transfer expert said: “Chelsea, as I told you, will add one more left-footed defender, could be a centre-back, could be a left-back. Riccardo Calafiori can play in both positions and for sure he’s one of the players in the list of Chelsea.

“It’s not correct to say that Chelsea already offered an important salary to Calafiori because it is not the salary the point. And we know that Chelsea are not doing crazy things in terms of salary this summer. It’s just important to understand for Chelsea if Riccardo Calafiori would be keen on a move, so this is the point of contact and Chelsea have Calafiori in their shortlist.”

According to CaughtOffside, Calafiori could cost Chelsea around €45m (£38m) this summer.

How could Chelsea line-up with Riccardo Calafiori if he decides to join them?

Calafiori is quite similar to Colwill in the sense that he is a very left-sided defender.

It means that the 22-year-old could play at either left-back or left centre-back for Chelsea in the upcoming season.

Supporters could easily see a backline of Cucurella, Calafiori, Wesley Fofana and captain Reece James, with the Italian playing in central defence, for example.

With Enzo Maresca already possessing a lot of options in defence, there are loads of different combinations he can use at Stamford Bridge. A versatile footballer like Calafiori would only give the former Leicester City manager more.

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