Todd Boehly on ‘personal mission’ to stop Chelsea star joining Premier League rivals Man City

Todd Boehly is on a ‘personal mission’ to prevent Chelsea from losing one of their key players to a Premier League rival this summer.

The Blues have made an uncharacteristically slow start to their summer transfer business, but are expected to make rapid progress now key talks have taken place between the club’s new owner and manager Thomas Tuchel.

Boehly will play an active role in Chelsea’s transfer activity during what remains of the window following the departure of Marina Granovskaia earlier this week.

The American is said to have promised Tuchel as many as six new signings as Chelsea look to build a squad capable of challenging Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title next season.

Strengthening in defence represents a priority for Tuchel given the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, while there remains uncertainty surrounding the futures of Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta.

With that in mind, Boehly is desperate to sort a new contract for Reece James as a matter of urgency, according to the Daily Mail.

The England international has two-and-a-half years left on his current deal and has been told he is likely to receive a major increase on his £70,000-a-week deal.

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However, James may have to wait until the end of the window before Chelsea can focus on extending his contract given the amount of business they are likely to conduct in the coming weeks.

Any delay could put Manchester City on red alert with Pep Guardiola a known admirer of the 22-year-old,