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A Chelsea star who has lost his way under Thomas Tuchel could be handed a lifeline after surprise transfer interest emerged from Liverpool and Arsenal.

The greatest component of Chelsea’s squad in the Tuchel era has undoubtedly been their defence. The Blues have conceded just once from open play in the league this year – a fortuitous deflected goal versus Man City on Saturday.

With so many elite level options at his disposal, the personnel in Tuchel’s back-line is often rotated. However, one star who appears firmly out of favour is Ben Chilwell.

The 24-year-old England international was a permanent fixture in Chelsea’s elevens that stormed to Champions League glory last season.

However, Marcos Alonso has been the preferred option at left-wingback this year. Indeed, Chilwell is yet to play a single minute in the league thus far.

To compound his woes, Chilwell was berated by Tuchel just minutes into their narrow EFL Cup victory over Aston Villa in midweek.

That has ramped up speculation Chilwell’s time at Stamford Bridge could come to a premature end after only arriving in a £50m deal last summer.

And according to Caught Offside (citing Spanish outlet Todofichajes), a queue of clubs are forming for Chilwell’s signature.

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are both namechecked, though it is Arsenal and Liverpool who are of greater interest.

Few would argue Chilwell isn’t good enough to command a starting berth for a club challenging for top honours. However, a move to either Liverpool or Arsenal may not solve his most pressing issue.

Indeed, despite Chilwell’s obvious talents, displacing Andy Robertson at Anfield is a near-impossible task. While not quite as difficult, Chilwell would still face an uphill struggle pushing ahead of Kieran Tierney at the Emirates.

As such, it would appear unlikely either would lodge an official approach unless the finances of a deal were too good to ignore.

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Chelsea ‘willing’ to axe midfield general

Meanwhile, a surprise report has claimed Chelsea are ‘willing to sanction’ the sale of one of their most influential stars to prevent what all clubs try to avoid.

One player who has been critical to Chelsea’s success over the last half-decade is N’Golo Kante. The Frenchman, 30, has arguably been the Premier League’s finest holding midfielder since moving to England initially with Leicester in 2015.

Kante put in a series of mammoth displays as Chelsea marched towards their second Champions League success last season. However, injury struggles have increasingly begun to affect the midfield dynamo in recent years.

And with Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic taking their games to the next level, plus the likes of Billy Gilmour and Conor Gallagher in the pipeline, a surprise report from Goal has revealed Kante could soon be axed.

Citing Spanish outlet Fichajes, it’s stated Chelsea are ‘willing to sanction’ Kante’s departure in 2022. At that time, Kante will have just a single year remaining on his deal that expires in 2023.

The report goes on to claim there is ‘little sign’ he will sign an extension to that deal. As such, Chelsea will reportedly consider selling Kante next summer in order to avoid losing him for free 12 months later.

READ MORE: £30m Chelsea decision could leave Arsenal vulnerable to talisman’s transfer

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