Chelsea are reportedly ready to push through the signing of Saint-Etienne midfielder Mathis Amougou.
Facilitating outgoings from Stamford Bridge is seemingly the priority of club officials ahead of the close of business on Monday.
Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka and Joao Felix are allegedly on the brink of loan exits elsewhere, freeing up space on the club's wage bill.
However, with Romeo Lavia sidelined until at least March and Cesare Casadei having been sold to Torino, head coach Enzo Maresca could be left short in the engine room.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are attempting to secure the signature of Amougou before the 11pm (GMT) deadline.
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One for the present or future?
Romano suggests that a €15m (£12.46m) is on the brink of being agreed between the two clubs, allowing the 19-year-old to make the switch to West London.
Despite his youthful age, the France Under-19 international has already made 19 senior appearances for Saint-Etienne, including featuring on 17 occasions in this season's Ligue 1.
Nine of those outings have come from the starting lineup, Amougou also playing for 27 minutes in a recent 2-1 reverse to Paris Saint-Germain.
Nevertheless, with less than 18 months remaining on his contract, it appears that Saint-Etienne are prepared to cash in on the starlet's signature.
Unless a loan switch to fellow BlueCo club Strasbourg materialises in due course, Amougou appears in line to essentially take on the same backup role as Casadei, who was sold for the same price.
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A good business move?
There will inevitably be question marks as to why Chelsea prefer to sign a fresh face when they could recall either Andrey Santos or Lesley Ugochukwu from their respective loans.
Both players would realistically have more chance of making an immediate impact under Maresca, rather than a player with just 19 first-team games under is belt.
That said, Chelsea likely have the idea that Amougou will either blossom into a senior player or be sold for, at worst, a similar fee in the future.
Chelsea are also being linked with a Sporting Lisbon prospect who is of a similar profile to Amougou.
Darren Plant
