Chelsea have reportedly approached Brighton & Hove Albion with an offer in excess of £50m for left-back Marc Cucurella.
The Spaniard was initially expected to complete a summer move to Manchester City after the English champions sold Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal for £32m.
However, Brighton have been under no pressure to sell Cucurella for a cut-price fee this summer, as his deal at the Amex Stadium still has four years left to run.
The Seagulls are understood to be holding out for at least £50m for the 24-year-old, and Man City are not willing to bow to Brighton's financial demands.
As a result, Chelsea - who have shown a willingness to meet Brighton's asking price for Cucurella - are now well-placed to hijack a deal for the former Getafe man.
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According to The Athletic, Thomas Tuchel's side have now made a formal bid worth more than £50m for Cucurella, but Brighton have not accepted the offer.
The report claims that Graham Potter's side still want more for the former Barcelona youngster and are unlikely to sanction his exit until they can sign a suitable replacement.
Nineteen-year-old Levi Colwill of Chelsea is said to be Brighton's priority target to replace Cucurella, leading to inevitable talk of a player-plus-cash deal with Chelsea.
However, Brighton supposedly want to do a separate transfer for Colwill, which would mean Chelsea will be forced to conduct a straight-cash deal for Cucurella.
Nevertheless, the Blues are said to be confident about their chances of prising the left-back away from the Amex Stadium, and he has already given the green light to personal terms with the Blues.
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Cucurella - a five-cap Spain international - predominantly featured on the left-hand side of the Brighton defence last term but also filled in as part of a back three for Potter's side.
The defender ended his debut season in England with one goal and two assists from 38 appearances in all competitions and would represent Chelsea's fifth senior signing of the summer window.
Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly arrived at the club last month, and the club have also confirmed deals for teenagers Gabriel Slonina and Carney Chukwuemeka from Chicago Fire and Aston Villa respectively.
Tuchel has been prioritising defensive reinforcements since Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen left the club as free agents, and the futures of Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso are both still up in the air.
The Blues have already failed in their efforts to sign Matthijs de Ligt and Jules Kounde this summer, while Leicester City are determined to keep hold of £80m-rated Wesley Fofana.
Ben Knapton
