Much like it was in the summer, adding a new left-back to his Chelsea squad is a priority for Antonio Conte during the transfer window.
With just Marcos Alonso in his ranks with both Baba Rahman and Kenedy set to leave the club on loan after falling out-of-favour, Conte is scouring Europe for a potential January recruit.
After baulking at Juventus’ asking price for Alex Sandro, the London Evening Standard notes that the Blues are admirers of Porto fullback Alex Telles, but see £20m-rated Emerson Palmieri of Roma a more logical signing, despite interest from Juventus and Liverpool.
Telles arrived in European football in January 2014 when he joined Galatasaray in a £5.5m deal from Gremio, and after 18 months with the club he joined Inter Milan on a season-long loan for the 2015/16 season before joining Porto in the summer of 2016 for £5.9m.
Uncapped by Brazil, the 25-year-old left-back has Champions League experience and is a rather attacking fullback with experience of playing in a wing-back system which fits Chelsea’s criteria, but whether they could be tempted into a move for the defender remains to be seen.
