Chelsea seems to have settled in well to life under new manager Liam Rosenior, as the Blues have won three of the four games managed by the Englishman so far, with the only loss coming against Premier League leaders Arsenal in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal.

Now that the winter transfer window is wide open, the new gaffer is already looking to build the squad in line with his vision for the club, while being on the same page with BlueCo.

As it seems, strengthening the side's defence is on top of the priority list for Rosenior in the ongoing transfer window, with the club closing in on signing 20-year-old Jeremy Jacquet from French club Stade Rennais.  

Although Jacquet is not the only young defender on the Blues' radar, English prodigy Yisa Alao has emerged as a priority transfer target for the club over the past few days.

According to GOAL, the 17-year-old has reportedly opted to sign for Chelsea ahead of Manchester United, who previously submitted a bid of £450,000 for Alao, but the Blues have seemingly topped United's offer with a fee of over £1 million, including add-ons.  

The report also suggests that the young defender was attracted by Chelsea's project of building their squad around highly talented youngsters, summer signee Willian Estevao being the latest example, while making regular appearances in the top level despite being only 18 years old.

Alao's current club, Sheffield Wednesday, is going through a financial crisis after failing to pay salaries on time, leading to an 18-point deduction and relegation to the Championship. They sit at the bottom of the table with -7 points and are relegation-bound at the end of the season.

Amid this tumultuous situation, they have no choice but to cash in on their homegrown talent, whose transfer would be a significant boost to their finances.

Chelsea Football Club and Liam Rosenior, on the other hand, would land them in a pretty difficult scenario as they would most probably need to decide on future departures during the summer of 2026 if the signings of Jacquet and Alao are completed by the end of the transfer window.

They would have a total of ten defenders to choose from alongside Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Josh Acheampong, Jorrel Hato and Axel Disasi.  

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