Chelsea, Man Utd in race for Monaco defender

Having lost the race to sign Jules Kounde from Sevilla this summer to Barcelona, Chelsea have turned to other options they could sign before the close of the summer transfer window.

Chelsea have now joined Manchester United in the race for Monaco centre-back, Benoit Badiashile, L’Equipe reports.

The reports revealed that Monaco are demanding a fee of at least £42.5million for Badiashile.

Chelsea are said to want the highly-rated 21-year-old star after being unable to sign Kounde.

The club’s Thomas Tuchel is keen on signing new defenders and so far they have only signed one in the person of Kalidou Koulibaly, who joined the West London club from Napoli.

Monaco are not under no pressure to sell Badiashile as they have already cashed in this summer after selling Aurelien Tchouameni to Real Madrid.

Badiashile made 34 appearances for Monaco last season as he helped them finish third in the French Ligue 1 table earning a Champions League place.

The defender also played for France’s Under-21 side, captaining the team five times last season.