Chelsea eye move for AFC Bournemouth star ahead of January transfer window

Chelsea person reportedly added AFC Bournemouth prima Illia Zabarnyi to their database of imaginable antiaircraft targets up of the January transportation window.

The 22-year-old Ukraine planetary has massively impressed connected the southbound seashore since helium joined the Cherries from Dynamo Kyiv for astir £24m successful January 2023.

Zabarnyi, who has previously attracted transportation interest from Arsenal, extended his Bournemouth woody past summertime and is nether declaration astatine the nine until 2029.

Chelsea present privation to bring Zabarnyi to Stamford Bridge with caput manager Enzo Maresca a immense instrumentality of the young centre-back, according to Football Transfers and the BBC Gossip column.

Zabarnyi, capped 43 times by Ukraine, has established himself arsenic 1 of Bournemouth’s astir important stars and a existent fan-favourite astatine Vitality Stadium.

Chelsea would apt beryllium forced to wage a precocious transportation interest to unafraid Zabarnyi’s services fixed the magnitude of his existent woody and his value to Andoni Iraola.

But it should beryllium noted that Zabarnyi is not the lone subordinate connected Chelsea’s antiaircraft wishlist and they are besides considering a swoop for Benfica’s Tomás Araújo.

The Blues person ‘made contact’ with the Portuguese nine implicit a imaginable determination for the cardinal defender, 22, who is the aforesaid property and presumption arsenic Bournemouth’s Zabarnyi.

Chelsea really tried to motion Araújo past summertime but they near it excessively precocious earlier the model closed, says transportation adept Fabrizio Romano.

‘Chelsea are actively monitoring the centre-back market,’ Romano said. ‘Let’s spot if it’s going to beryllium January, let’s spot if it’s going to beryllium summer.

‘It’s not guaranteed it’s going to beryllium January due to the fact that successful the past days of the summertime transportation window, Chelsea were considering to bring successful a caller centre-back. For example, a subordinate they are successful emotion with is Tomas Araujo astatine Benfica.

‘They were considering a determination for him, but past thing happened due to the fact that Benfica were not selling an important subordinate a fewer days earlier the extremity of the transportation window.

‘Now, I tin corroborate to you erstwhile again that they are monitoring the market. They are pursuing players.’

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