Chelsea and Liverpool have reportedly made contact to sign Club Brugge defender Joel Ordóñez in January, as per TEAMtalk.
After thrashing Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League, the Blues displayed a promising performance against Arsenal with 10 men in the Premier League last weekend and managed to come away with a draw.
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Following that result, the West London club were considered a potential challengers to the Gunners for the league title this campaign. However, having endured a disappointing 3-1 defeat to relegation-threatened Leeds United, Chelsea have found themselves nine points behind league leader Arsenal.
Meanwhile, the Blues have struggled with fitness problems in the centre-back position this season, with Levi Colwill’s season being over due to a serious knee problem. So Enzo Maresca decided to rotate his defenders, selecting Tosin Adarabioyo and Benoit Badiashile as the central pairing vs the Peacocks.
However, the Frenchman looked shaky before being taken off at the interval, while the Englishman made a poor mistake which led to Leeds’ third goal.
Now, TEAMtalk claim that Chelsea are planning to reinforce the defence in January and have identified Ordóñez as a serious option. The Blues hold a long-term interest in the Ecuadorian, and Moisés Caicedo has already held talks with his compatriot to persuade him to join.
Chelsea, moreover, have made contact with the player’s representatives over this deal, and the player is ready to leave Brugge in January. The Belgian giants are even ready to allow his departure.
Battle
However, purchasing the South American won’t be straightforward for Chelsea as Liverpool are in this race as well and are ‘huge admirers’ of the youngster. The Reds want a new defender following Ibrahima Konate’s disappointing performances thus far this season.
Marc Guehi is the Merseyside club’s primary target, but Crystal Palace don’t want to part ways with him in mid-season, so Liverpool have shifted focus to alternative options.
Arne Slot’s side have been monitoring Ordóñez’s development over the last 12 months, and having been impressed by his performances, they have now held talks with the player’s agent to finalise the move.
Moreover, the report say that apart from Chelsea and Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are also contemplating making a potential swoop.