Chelsea‘s unremitting hunt for a dominant left-footed centre-half could soon draw to a close, with Monaco defender Benoit Badiashile set to undergo his medical at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old French international, who has penned a deal with the Blues worth just shy of £35million, will hand Graham Potter an extra option in defence in the absence of Wesley Fofana, Reece James and Ben Chilwell, who are all injured.
Todd Boehly’s latest splurge of the war chest follows the arrivals of Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Carney Chukwuemeka and Fofana last summer, although the American’s investment has not borne fruit on the pitch so far this season.
Monaco star Benoit Badiashile is on the brink of completing his £35million move to Chelsea
Graham Potter will hope his arrival offers a major boost with Chelsea languishing in ninth spot
Chelsea sit eighth in the Premier League following their New Year’s Day draw against strugglers Nottingham Forest and find themselves seven points behind Manchester United in fourth.
Blues fans will hope Badiashile is the missing piece in Potter’s jigsaw puzzle as the head coach continues to search for his ideal starting line-up and navigate the club’s growing injury list.
Sportsmail has assessed the youngster’s profile and analysed his statistics for Monaco this season.
Todd Boehly is continuing to invest heavily at Chelsea following his summer spending spree
Career so far
Born in the French city of Limoges, Badiashile joined Monaco’s academy in 2016 after showing promise as a youth player for regional outfit Malesherbes.
The centre-half has represented France at youth level since his first call-up to the under-16s, and has earned two senior international caps under Didier Deschamps.
Impressing during his two years in Monaco’s youth ranks, Badiashile went on to rivet the gaze of the first-team squad and eventually made his senior debut for the club in 2018-19.
The centre-half played 35 games in the league last season as Monaco finished third in Ligue 1
The 21-year-old represented France at every youth level and made his senior bow in September
The 21-year-old has since become a stalwart at the back for the French side, chalking up 135 appearances between 2018 and 2022.
Badiashile played 35 league matches to help Monaco finish third in Ligue 1 last season and has since started 14 games this campaign.
Position
Badiashile is adept playing…