Chelsea face Newcastle competition for transfer of centre-back they “really like”

Chelsea are reportedly alongside Newcastle United in pursuing the transfer of talented young Benfica defender Tomas Araujo.

The 22-year-old has shone in the Portuguese league and is now on the radar of some top clubs in the Premier League, including Chelsea, Newcastle and Crystal Palace, according to a report from O Jogo.

Araujo has been linked with Chelsea before, with Fabrizio Romano telling CaughtOffside that the Portugal Under-21 international is a player the Blues “really like”.

It surely makes sense for CFC to keep strengthening in defence in the near future, as it’s arguably a weakness in their current squad.

The west London giants lost the experienced Thiago Silva in the summer as he came to the end of his contract, and the jury is still out on the likes of Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi in that position.

Tomas Araujo could be the signing to strengthen Chelsea’s defence

Chelsea have signed a number of top young players under Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, but defence is arguably a position where they still haven’t quite got it right.

Tosin Adarabioyo was the most recent signing at centre-back but doesn’t seem to have established himself as a regular starter under Enzo Maresca, so there’s surely room for someone like Araujo to come in.

The talented youngster looks like he fits the bill perfectly for Chelsea, so could be the ideal signing to give them their long-term successor to Silva.

Newcastle could also be a tempting project for Araujo, though, with Eddie Howe doing great work during his time at St James’ Park.

The Magpies have actually been in the Champions League more recently than Chelsea, so it might be worth gambling on a move to the north east instead of to west London.