According to reports from The Express this afternoon, Chelsea have seen an £11million bid for Napoli defender Faouzi Ghoulam rejected.
The Algerian international impressed at last summer’s World Cup and transitioned his strong performances into last season, earning a place in the Europa League’s Team of the Year for 2014/15 as the Naples outfit reached the tournament’s semi-finals.
The Blues are allegedly targeting the 24 year-old as a potential replacement for La Liga-winning defender Filipe Luis, who admitted earlier this week that his Stamford Bridge future remains uncertain, having made just nine Premier League starts since arriving from Atletico Madrid in July 2014 – as reported by Goal.com.
But the Premier League champions are by no means the only party interested in the 6 foot 2 left-back. According to reports from French publication Le10Sport, summarised in English by Here Is The City, Manchester City and Real Madrid are also keen on the former St. Etienne star.
The Citizens want a younger alternative to ageing No.3s Gael Clichy and Aleksander Kolorov, whilst the Bernabeu outfit need a replacement for Fabio Coentrao, who is expected to be sold this summer.