Chelsea eye TWO Benfica youngsters

Chelsea are reportedly stepping up their interest in Benfica‘s Antonio Silva and Tomas Araujo, according to reports.

The Blues are thought to be on the lookout to strengthen their backline and the Premier League side believe those two fit perfectly into their mantra of buying the best young talent in the world.

Silva has been previously linked with a move to Manchester United and Liverpool, which suggests a competitive race for his signature.

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According to Simon Phillips, via CaughtOffside, Chelsea has been actively scouting defensive options – with signing a central defender within the next two transfer windows considered a priority.

Indeed, United, who have a long-standing interest, are also keeping a close eye on Silva, with manager Erik ten Hag reportedly interested in reinforcing his defence despite recent signings like Matthijs de Ligt.

The futures of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof remain under question, however,

Liverpool are also in the mix, per reports, potentially seeing Silva as an ideal replacement for Virgil van Dijk, who is nearing the end of his contract.

Chelsea still keen

Last month Fabrizio Romano also said that the Blues were very keen on Araujo.

Speaking to CaughtOffside, Romano has revealed that Chelsea remain interested in Araujo and could revisit a deal for him in the future should they feel the need to add to their defensive ranks. Additionally, they are interested in RB Leipzig defender Castello Lukeba.

“Chelsea are following many centre-backs [and] Lukeba is one of many players they’ve been monitoring, which is absolutely normal, just like with Tomas Araujo at Benfica. Araujo in particular is a player Chelsea really like, and they tried for him in the final weeks of the summer transfer window.

“At that time, Benfica didn’t want to sell the player, but he remains someone on Chelsea’s radar, and they are also scouting Lukeba, but at this moment it’s too early to predict where he’s going.”

Chelsea’s interest in Araujo is intriguing, though, as he has yet to establish himself as a guaranteed regular starter for Benfica. At 22, he has only made 29 senior appearances for the Lisbon giants.