After seeing an enquiry for Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos knocked back, Chelsea have now switched their attention to Athletic Bilbao star Aymeric Laporte.
Everton's refusal to sell John Stones to Chelsea has left Jose Mourinho's men scouring Europe for another centre-back and they made a play for PSG's Marquinhos.
But the French champions will not entertain selling the Brazilian, meaning Chelsea are now hunting Laporte.
According to French outlet Mercato365, Chelsea must pay €50m for the young defender, a sum which would activate his release clause and leave Athletic Bilbao powerless to prevent his departure, as otherwise the Basque club will not deal.
Super agent Jorge Mendes is leading the negotiations as Chelsea push forward to try to take the France Under-21 international to Stamford Bridge.
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The 21-year-old, who was born in France, joined Athletic Bilbao's youth ranks in 2010 before then graduating to the senior side.
Laporte has been tipped for big things and has been linked with Catalan giants Barcelona.
He only signed a new deal with Athletic Bilbao earlier this summer, which set his release clause at €50m.
Laporte has also been linked with Manchester United, but Chelsea are pressing the accelerator on a deal.
