Chelsea will reportedly battle Serie A champions AC Milan in the race to sign talented RB Leipzig defender Mohamed Simakan.
Chelsea could reignite their long-term interest in RB Leipzig defender Mohamed Simakan. That is according to Fichajes, who claim the Blues are interested in signing the versatile 22-year-old defender but will have to battle it out with Serie A giants AC Milan for his signature.
Simakan moved to RB Leipzig from RC Strasbourg in a £13.5 million deal in the summer of 2021. He moved to the Bundesliga with a lofty reputation as a like-for-like replacement for Bayern Munich-bound Dayot Upamecano. But he has had a somewhat slow start to his Bundesliga career.
Simakan found his perfect position as a right-sided centre-back in a back three under recently-sacked RB Leipzig boss Domenico Tedesco and has gone from strength to strength with each passing game since then. The 22-year-old has been a regular in the Bundesliga club’s defence and has already racked up over 50 appearances, scoring twice and laying down three assists in the process.
This has led to the Frenchman attracting interest from several quarters, including Premier League giants Chelsea. The Blues seemed intent on revamping their squad in the most recent transfer window. They need new personnel all across the pitch, with their defence, in particular, looking thin after the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
After a quiet start to the summer, Chelsea ended up signing Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli, Marc Cucurella from Brighton & Hove Albion, and Wesley Fofana from Leicester City for a combined £170 million in transfer fees.
After spending heavily during the summer transfer window, many would expect the Blues to concentrate their efforts on reducing the size of their bloated squad. That will not be the case for a free-spending Chelsea, as new manager Graham Potter has been assured the full backing of owner Todd Boehly as he builds his new project.
And the former Brighton coach wants to start from the back, going by their intense pursuit of RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol. However, it appears that the 20-year-old Croatian centre-back is not the only Leipzig defender on the Blues’ radar, as they are also keeping tabs on his teammate Simakan.
This is not the first time Simakan has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, having been strongly linked with them in January 2021. The 22-year-old is an assured and composed defender who is tactically flexible and has a good level of game intelligence.
He enjoys a healthy reputation as an exciting ball-carrying, aggressive, and adaptable defender who is adept at playing right-back or right-sided centre-back. Those are most of the attributes Potter likes in his defenders.
Chelsea are well-stocked in the defensive area right now. But with Koulibaly, Thiago Silva, and Cesar Azpilicueta all over thirty, the west Londoners will benefit from succession planning. At 22 years old, Simakan still has plenty of room to develop. And while his Leipzig contract does not expire until 2026, he is unlikely to cost an arm and a leg like some of their recent acquisitions.
