Chelsea hold talks with Inter over Denzel Dumfries

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Chelsea hold talks with Inter over Denzel Dumfries

Chelsea are interested in Inter right-back Denzel Dumfries and have held talks with the Serie A side over a possible transfer, 90min can confirm.

The Blues are looking to bolster all across their back line and would like a new right-back to compete for minutes with Reece James, particularly as Cesar Azpilicueta continues to eye a move away to Barcelona.

That search has taken them to Dumfries and 90min can confirm that talks have been held over a possible move for the 26-year-old Dutchman, who only joined Inter last summer for a fee of around £12.5m.

Inter manager Simone Inzaghi would like to keep Dumfries but those in charge at the Nerazzurri are prepared to sanction his departure to meet Financial Fair Play rules. Club officials have been planning for one sizeable departure and had hoped to offload Milan Skriniar to Paris Saint-Germain, but talks with the Ligue 1 side have stalled.

As a result, Inter are begrudgingly prepared to sell Dumfries but they have warned Chelsea that it will cost them €40m (£33.5m) to convince them to sell.

Talks have not progressed any further at this point and it remains to be seen whether Chelsea would offer such a fee for a player who is likely to spend most of his time as a backup to James.

The Blues' interest in a new wing-back is by no means a sign of wavering faith in James and 90min understands that the 22-year-old is in line for a bumper new contract which would see him handed a huge pay rise.

James' current deals runs until 2025 but he remains one of the squad's lowest earners and Chelsea are well aware that he is more than deserving of a sizeable reward for his emergence as one of England's top defenders.

Elsewhere, Chelsea continue to search for a new centre-back and sources have confirmed that Leicester City's Wesley Fofana is among their top targets following their failure to capture Jules Kounde from Sevilla.