Chelsea find dream Cesar Azpilicueta replacement as Todd Boehly aims to repeat Ligue 1 trick

Chelsea have been linked with Lens wing-back Jonathan Clauss as a potential target to improve Thomas Tuchel's squad ahead of next season.

As reported by French outlet Telefoot via GetFootballNewsFrance, Atletico Madrid are set to table an offer between £5-6m with only one year left on the 29-year-old's current deal with the Ligue 1 side. In the same report, it claims that Chelsea have kept tabs on Clauss, who racked up five goals and 11 assists in the 2021/22 campaign.

Tuchel views Clauss as a potential replacement for Cesar Azpilicueta who could still leave the club after almost 10 years, with Barcelona remaining interested in the Blues defender.

Clauss has previously expressed an interest in becoming a Chelsea player, telling RMC Sport that the west London club is the one he dreams of. “Since I was kid, it’s been Chelsea, and it remains Chelsea."

As the Todd Boehly era is set to begin following the sale from Roman Abramovich, the task of rebuilding Tuchel's squad is a steep one. Replacing a player as versatile and reliable as Azpilicueta is not simple, arguably Chelsea's best value signing of all time, bought for £6.5m in August 2012 from Marseille, the Spaniard has gone on to be a constant feature under seven coaches at Stamford Bridge.

Repeating that deal from a league the Blues have benefited from before could prove highly beneficial in the first summer under new ownership.