Ligue 1 boss confirms Chelsea deal for €38m defender

The Blues are close to completing a deal for a third new player in the January transfer window.

AS Monaco manager Philippe Clement has said the Ligue 1 club has an agreement with ‘another team’ to sell Benoit Badiashile.

While Clement did not name the club to have struck the deal with Monaco, it’s widely believed to be Chelsea. According to The Athletic, the Blues have agreed to pay a fee worth €37-38 million.

As a result, the 21-year-old defender didn’t feature in Monaco’s 1-0 league win over Brest on Sunday.

“I can say that this morning, Benoit Badiashile was with us at the hotel,” Clement said after the match at the Stade Louis II.

“At that moment, I was contacted by our directors who told me that there was an agreement between Monaco and another team. It’s a team that I know interests Benoit, but there is no agreement with him.”

Clement added that while Badiashile wished to be available for Monaco’s match against Brest, he felt it was best for the defender to resolve his future instead.

Potter refuses to confirm any deal

On the other side, Graham Potter has refused to shed any light on the transfer to reporters. The Chelsea manager reiterated his stance after Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at Nottingham Forest.

“Until somebody tells me anybody has been signed, it would be unfair of me to comment,” he said.

Chelsea have already completed a deal to sign Ivorian forward David Datro Fofana from Molde FK. Vasco da Gama midfielder Andrey Santos is also expected to join the London club in January.