Leicester City have accepted that they are facing an uphill battle to hold on to left-back Ben Chilwell, who is wanted by both Chelsea and Manchester City.
It was confirmed to 90min that the two suitors see Chilwell as the perfect solution to their struggles at left-back. Chelsea want to replace both Marcos Alonso and Emerson, while City are ready to cut ties with Benjamin Mendy.
Leicester have insisted that they will not be forced to part ways with Chilwell, who still has four years remaining on his current contract, but The Times state that the Foxes have already started preparing for his exit.
The report goes as far as to state that Chelsea are 'closing in' on Chilwell, despite the fact that the financial side of the deal looks to be a major stumbling block.
Leicester are ready to stand firm on their £75m asking price and have pointed to Chelsea's acquisitions of both Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner as evidence of the Blues' ability to spend money if they want to this summer.
To finance the deal, Chelsea could sell both Marcos Alonso and Emerson, while it's even suggested that the Blues are ready to listen to offers for both Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen, although selling either of the centre-backs would only create another transfer dilemma for Chelsea.
While such a deal seems unlikely, Leicester have already started identifying alternatives. Southampton's Ryan Bertrand has been highlighted by Brendan Rodgers, while the Daily Mail add that Vitesse's Max Clark is also under consideration.
With Chelsea already pushing for a £75m deal for Bayer Leverkusen star Kai Havertz, to see them spend the same kind of money on Chilwell seems highly unlikely.
The Blues have prepared for that eventuality and have been looking for cheaper alternatives if a move for Chilwell proves impossible. Ajax's Nicolás Tagliafico is available for £22.4m, while Porto's Alex Telles comes with a release clause of around £35m and could be available for cheaper as a result of his expiring contract.
For more from Tom Gott, follow him on Twitter!
Source : 90min