Chelsea reportedly hold an interest in signing Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard in the current transfer window.
The 26-year-old has been an ever-present for the Bavarians since arriving from Stuttgart in 2019 and has registered five goals and 11 assists in 119 appearances for the club.
Pavard's 2021-22 season saw the France international register two assists from 36 outings in all tournaments, cementing his position as Julian Nagelsmann's first-choice right-back.
The France international has won four Bundesliga titles, the Champions League, one Club World Cup, the DFB-Pokal, the UEFA Super Cup and the German Super Cup during his time at Bayern, as well as winning the World Cup and UEFA Nations League with France.
However, Pavard only has two years left to run on his existing deal with Bayern, who have added to their right-back ranks this summer with the signing of Noussair Mazraoui from Ajax.
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As a result, Sky Deutschland reporter Florian Plettenberg has claimed that Pavard could leave the German champions this summer, and Chelsea are keeping a close eye on the situation.
Plettenburg adds that both player and club can envisage a departure in the coming weeks, but Chelsea would have to fend off competition from other top clubs in Europe to sign Pavard.
Atletico Madrid are still on the hunt for a replacement for Kieran Trippier after his January exit to Newcastle United and are also believed to be interested in a deal for the ex-Lille starlet.
Furthermore, Massimiliano Allegri supposedly wants to bring Pavard to Juventus, and the defender is currently in talks with Bayern Munich regarding his future.
Chelsea are set for a major defensive shake-up in the summer window, as Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen have left on free transfers to join Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.
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Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta only have 12 months left to run on their respective contracts and could also both leave before the window shuts amid interest from La Blaugrana.
A fee of £11m would reportedly be sufficient for Chelsea to part ways with Azpilicueta, who has been utilised as a right centre-back and right wing-back during his Chelsea career under Tuchel.
Pavard has also demonstrated his versatility across the backline for both club and country in the past few years - often playing in a back three for France - and such qualities would likely appeal to Tuchel.
The Blues are still thought to be working on a deal for Juventus' Matthijs de Ligt as their number one defensive target and have reportedly made strong progress in their efforts to sign the Dutchman.
Ben Knapton
