Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are reportedly both keeping an eye on the situation of Chelsea centre-back Trevoh Chalobah.
The 24-year-old has become a mainstay of the Blues' first team since graduating from their academy ranks, but regular starts have been hard to come by.
Chalobah featured on 33 occasions for Chelsea during their troubled 2022-23 season, although he started under 50% of their Premier League games amid intense defensive competition.
Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile, Thiago Silva, Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana and Malang Sarr are also at Mauricio Pochettino's disposal, and Chalobah is yet to make a competitive appearance this term due to injury.
The former Lorient loanee was expected to complete a move elsewhere over the summer and was thought to have been attracting interest from Italian giants Inter Milan, leading to suggestions of a potential part-exchange deal involving Romelu Lukaku.
Such a deal did not materialise, though, as Chalobah remained at Stamford Bridge for the 2023-24 campaign, and he remains contracted to the Blues until 2028 with the option of a further 12 months.
Chalobah only penned a new long-term extension in November, but he continues to be linked with an exit from his boyhood club, whom he has represented since his days as a schoolboy in 2007.
According to TEAMtalk, Chalobah does not fit into Pochettino's long-term plans for Chelsea, and the defender will pursue opportunities elsewhere - either in the Premier League or abroad - in 2024.
The report claims that both Spurs and West Ham are monitoring developments closely, as are London rivals Fulham, but German champions Bayern Munich are currently at the head of the queue.
The Bavarians' head coach Thomas Tuchel offered Chalobah his route into the Chelsea first team, and the former England Under-21 international is supposedly open to advancing his career away from his homeland.
Italian giants Roma - who have provided Chris Smalling with a platform to thrive following his Manchester United exit - are also believed to be in the mix, as Jose Mourinho searches for defensive reinforcements midway through the season.
While Chalobah has now accepted that his future lies elsewhere, the centre-back is said to have been "desperate" to follow in the footsteps of Chelsea icons before him, such as John Terry and Frank Lampard.
The Englishman was loaned out to Ipswich Town, Huddersfield Town and Lorient before being promoted to the senior team, and he now boasts four goals and an assist from 63 senior games for the club.
Due to a setback in his recovery from a thigh injury, Chalobah will not be able to make his first appearance of the season in Saturday's London derby with Arsenal, and it is unclear when he will be fit enough to return to the pitch. body check tags ::
