The Blues are looking to step up their pursuit in order to sign winger Saïd Benrahma, who plays for Championship side Brentford.
Chelsea FC manager Frank Lampard does not seem like he is going to stop his spending spree anytime soon, with the young Blues manager and former Chelsea FC player willing to add as many talented players to his squad ahead of the start of the 2020-21 Premier League campaign. And now reports indicate that Chelsea FC are indeed frontrunners in the race to sign Benrahma, who is also eyed by Arsenal and Championship leaders Leeds United.
It is believed that although a formal bid is yet to be made by Lampard to Brentford, Chelsea FC have declared their interest in signing the player to the Championship outfit. Benrahma, who is an Algerian international has been capped three times by the national team, formerly played for Ligue 1 side OGC Nice.
The player is known to be very skilful on either flank and has drawn many comparisons to fellow Algerian Riyadh Mahrez, who plays for Premier League side Manchester City FC. However, the player’s current contract with Brentford expires in 2022, and thus the Championship side would demand a substantial amount in order to let their star player depart in the summer. Brentford had earlier ejected an approach from Aston Villa FC to sign Benrahma.
What is the market value of Benrahma?
Brentford are known to value Benrahma at £31 million, which does not seem a huge amount of money for Blues manager Frank Lampard if he is persistent on signing the player.
Benrahma has scored ten goals for Brentford this season in the 34 league games he has played for the side. The 24 year olds performances in the current campaign also led to him being nominated for the EFL Player of the Year award at the 2020 London Football Awards held earlier this year.
With current veteran wingers, Willian and Pedro set to depart Stamford Bridge, Lampard is in urgent need of adding attacking reinforcements to the Blues squad. Pedro is known to be close to a move to Italian giants AS Roma while Willian is being eyed by Premier League sides Everton FC and Manchester United FC as a free transfer signing following the expiry of his Chelsea FC contract at the end of June.
