Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea is once again focusing on revamping their defensive options at Stamford Bridge this summer after the club has been linked with interest in 29-year-old French international right-back Jonathan Clauss.
That report comes via Goal’s Nizaar Kinsella who reported earlier that Chelsea has made initial contact with the Ligue 1 outfit over a potential deal for the Strasbourg-native this summer.
🚨 Chelsea have made initial contact over signing France international Jonathan Clauss:
– He could replace Azpilicueta
– Costs around £10m
– He supports #CFC
– Atletico also want him: https://t.co/3brT0o5FwK— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) June 21, 2022
Clauss has had a breakout two years with Lens at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis since his arrival from German club Arminia Bielefeld in the summer of 2020, and has since risen to such domestic prominence that he earned his first call-up for France in March of this year while going on to receive nine caps for Les Blues to date.
Chelsea would have to shell out just ~£10million to secure his services from northern France should a deal be struck, but they face stiff competition from La Liga giants Atlético Madrid.
The Blues could be in the driver’s seat, however, with Kinsella adding that Clauss himself is a Chelsea supporter and given the Blues need to look for a replacement for veteran versatile defender César Azpilicueta this summer, such an affordable price-point for Clauss could be too good to turn down.
An attacking threat of note, Clauss has bagged 8-goals and added a further 18-assists to his stat line in just 75-appearances for Les Sang et Or, helping the club to back-to-back seventh-place finishes in Ligue 1 since their return to the French top flight in 2020-21.
With such attacking qualities as part of his profile, he would be an ideal depth option under Tuchel behind Cobham academy graduate Reece James.
Given that Qatar 2022 is fast approaching and with James all but likely to be one of the leading candidates to start for England this winter, a deal for Clauss could represent a smart piece of business by the Stamford Bridge outfit.
