Chelsea are reported to be in pole position to sign Aurélien Tchouaméni, who currently plays his club football for Monaco in Ligue 1.
The 21-year old has become one of the most highly valued in Europe and has already broken through at international level, after making his full debut in September in a World Cup qualifier.
He has now earned six senior caps for his country, having represented France at every age group from under-16 upwards.
His form has not gone unnoticed by some of the big clubs in Europe, and Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City and Juventus have all made enquiries as to his availability.
However, Chelsea appear to have got themselves to the front of the queue, by indicating that they are prepared to pay more than Monaco’s current valuation of £42.5 million for a player whom they only signed from Bordeaux in January of last year.
Nothing though is likely to happen until the end of the season, though.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.