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Chelsea are set to hijack two Premier League rivals after reportedly asking for information about Jonathan Ikone. The Lille striker is believed to be a target of Newcastle and Tottenham but now the Blues have entered the race to sign the 22-year-old.
Chelsea transfer news: The Blues have asked for information about Jonathan Ikone (Image: GETTY)
And the report states Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham have all asked for information about Ikone ahead of a potential summer transfer.
Previously, Le 10 Sport had also claimed that Chelsea had positioned themselves for the player while Manchester United and Everton were also monitoring the situation.
Such scrutiny from the Premier League has understandably caught the attention of Ikone, who could be set for a bumper salary increase if he does move on in the upcoming window.
Newcastle appear to be ahead of Spurs in the race to snap up the forward, although the latest report gives Chelsea a decent chance of sealing a deal - despite their recent acquisition of Timo Werner.
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It is not yet clear how Lille value Ikone, although transfermarkt.com gives the youngster a value of £32.4m.
This is partly due to Ikone's contract, which is not due to expire until 2023.
Lille have already developed a reputation as hard negotiators, with the club pocketing £72m from Arsenal for Nicolas Pepe last year before reportedly extracting €81m (£73.5m) from Napoli for Osimhen.
Chelsea are similarly hard-nosed in the transfer market, with club director Marina Granovskaia developing an almost legendary status for securing the Blues the best deal.
Chelsea transfer news: Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner have already agreed moves to Stamford Bridge (Image: GETTY)
And the Stamford Bridge club are set to be busy this summer with Ben Chilwell and Kai Havertz identified as their next targets after snapping up Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner.
A new centre-back is also required while there have been reports of an audacious player-plus-cash exchange involving Kepa Arrizabalaga and Jan Oblak.
Meanwhile, Newcastle are still waiting for confirmation of their long-awaited takeover while Tottenham are unlikely to have the same spending power as rivals Chelsea in the transfer market.
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