Chelsea will reportedly have to hand over a fee of £60m to secure the services of Ben Chilwell from Leicester City this summer.
Blues manager Frank Lampard is said to be in the market for a new left-back ahead of next season, and Chilwell has supposedly emerged as a priority target for the London outfit.
The England international still has four years left to run on his current deal with the Foxes, however, meaning that the ball is firmly in Leicester's court when it comes to negotiating a price.
According to The Guardian, talks between the two parties have begun and Leicester are holding out for a fee of £60m for the left-back, but Chelsea are only prepared to fork out £45m.
The report claims that Lampard may look to Ajax's Nicolas Tagliafico as a cut-price alternative - with the Argentine supposedly available for a considerably lower figure of £22.4m.
Chelsea have already begun to utilise their funds with the signing of Timo Werner, who is reportedly set to join the Blues on a five-year deal from RB Leipzig.
Ben Knapton
