Chelsea are reportedly closing in on a £40m deal to sign Lewis Dunk, with the Brighton skipper expecting to move to Stamford Bridge this summer window.
Dunk, who has made just one appearance for England, has spent over a decade at Brighton, playing up to 306 games for the club in three different divisions.
The 28-year-old defender has emerged as one of Brighton’s most consistent players and impressed this campaign as the club finished 15th in the Premier League table.
Chelsea struggled defensively last season and Frank Lampard is desperate to strengthen his team in that area, having already signed Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech to the Bridge.
Chelsea have also shown interest in signing West Ham star Declan Rice but his club value him around £80m – this has led the blues to look elsewhere.
According to The Sun, Lewis Dunk is now one of Frank Lampard’s targets, with Chelsea closing in on a £40m deal to sign the defender.
Chelsea’s London rivals Tottenham are also believed to be interested in signing Dunk, who made his international debut for England in 2018.
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Speaking after Chelsea’s final game of the 2019-20 campaign – a Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich – Lampard said he was keen to see more new signings arrive at the club.
‘We’ll look at that, because that’s our job, we’re very joined up on that already,’ the Blues boss said.
‘From having a transfer ban (last summer) you feel we’ve missed where other clubs have spent and improved, and recruitment is a huge part of this game.
‘Nights like this in a footballing sense, show me a lot, tell me a lot. ‘So it’s a conversation now, the season is ended, it’s a very quick turnaround, so now is the time to see where we can improve, what areas we can improve on.’
