Chelsea target Inter star that could see Reece James change position

Chelsea have switched their attentions to Inter Milan defender Denzel Dumfries following their frustrations over a deal for Sevilla defender Jules Kounde.

The Blues thought that they held the upper hand in a move for the Frenchman, only for Barcelona to swoop in and hijack yet another deal from under the nose of Thomas Tuchel, having done the same with Raphinha earlier in the transfer window.

While Barcelona’s bid (consisting of 50m euros plus a further 10m in add-ons) will not match Chelsea’s, there is confidence that it will be accepted by the Spanish side, with Kounde ready to agree personal terms.

Barcelona are in direct negotiations with Sevilla for Jules Koundé. Official bid won’t be €50m plus €10m and won’t match Chelsea’s £55m bid – it will be lower with different structure. 🚨🔵🔴 #FCB

Koundé, waiting for the next steps as he already agreed personal terms. pic.twitter.com/uOQ6FyregO

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 25, 2022

As a result, the London Evening Standard claim that the Blues have switched their focus to the Dutch full-back, who has excelled as a right wing-back since his move to Inter Milan last summer. He is also courted by Manchester United, with Erik ten Hag keen to strengthen his right flank.

26-year-old Dumfries grabbed 5 goals and 7 assists in 45 appearances for the Serie A giants last campaign, which saw them lose out to rivals AC Milan for the title by just 2 points.

A change of position for James

With Chelsea previously targeting a centre-back. and still keen to strengthen there, should they move for Dumfries it would suggest a change of position for current wing-back Reece James, who has previously been deployed on the right side of Thomas Tuchel’s back three, and could do so once again for the coming season.

The Blues could still move for a centre-back, having reportedly drawn up a shortlist of five options to strengthen in the heart of their backline, but should a move for Dumfries materialise, it would imply a change of position for the impressive Englishman.

Read more:

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	AFC Bournemouth	0	0	0
2	Arsenal FC	0	0	0
3	Aston Villa	0	0	0
4	Brentford FC	0	0	0
5	Brighton & Hove Albion	0	0	0
6	Chelsea FC	0	0	0
7	Crystal Palace	0	0	0
8	Everton FC	0	0	0
9	Fulham FC	0	0	0
10	Leeds United	0	0	0
11	Leicester City	0	0	0
12	Liverpool FC	0	0	0
13	Manchester City	0	0	0
14	Manchester United	0	0	0
15	Newcastle United	0	0	0
16	Nottingham Forest	0	0	0
17	Southampton FC	0	0	0
18	Tottenham Hotspur	0	0	0
19	West Ham United	0	0	0
20	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	0	0

Player	Team	Goals
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	23
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	23
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	18
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	17
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	16
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	15
Jota, Diogo	Liverpool FC	15
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City	15
Zaha, Wilfried	Crystal Palace	14
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City	13
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	12
Maddison, James	Leicester City	12
Toney, Ivan	Brentford FC	12
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	11
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	11
Mahrez, Riyad	Manchester City	11
Richarlison	Everton FC	11
Pukki, Teemu	Norwich City	11
Raphinha	Leeds United	11
Watkins, Ollie	Aston Villa	11

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
Mings, Tyrone	Aston Villa	0	11
Xhaka, Granit	Arsenal FC	1	10
Tarkowski, James	Burnley FC	0	11
Firpo, Junior	Leeds United	0	11
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	0	10
Gallagher, Conor	Crystal Palace	0	10
Brownhill, Josh	Burnley FC	0	10
Bednarek, Jan	Southampton FC	0	10
Bissouma, Yves	Brighton & Hove Albion	0	10
Moreno, Rodrigo	Leeds United	0	9
Neves, Ruben	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	9
Romeu, Oriol	Southampton FC	0	9
Rudiger, Antonio	Chelsea FC	0	9
Mctominay, Scott	Manchester United	0	9
Salisu, Mohammed	Southampton FC	0	8
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	0	8
Toney, Ivan	Brentford FC	0	8
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	0	7
Richarlison	Everton FC	0	8
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	1	7

Player	Team	Assists
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	13
Alexander-Arnold, Trent	Liverpool FC	12
Barnes, Harvey	Leicester City	11
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	10
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	10
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	10
Robertson, Andy	Liverpool FC	10
Maddison, James	Leicester City	9
James, Reece	Chelsea FC	9
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	9
Cancelo, Joao	Manchester City	9
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	8
Jesus, Gabriel	Manchester City	8
Kulusevski, Dejan	Tottenham Hotspur	8
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	7
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	7
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United	7
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal FC	7
Mbeumo, Bryan	Brentford FC	7
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	6